N.W.T.'s Thaidene Nene park plan leaves 25% of area open to development

The N.W.T. government's plan for Thaidene Nene park near Lutsel K'e would leave almost a quarter of the area open to development, a proposal that's being "reluctantly accepted" by the local First Nation.

Thaidene Nene, which means "land of our the ancestors" in Chipewyan, sits at the end of the East Arm of Great Slave Lake. It includes many sites held sacred by the Lutsel K'e Denesoline.

​The First Nation has been in talks with Parks Canada over the creation of a national park in the area since the 1960s. Since authority over lands and resources devolved to the N.W.T. last year, much of the land is now under territorial control.

The N.W.T. is proposing some of the 34,000 square kilometres would be a national park, another chunk would be a territorial park and a small portion would be a wildlife conservation area. The remaining 8,000 square kilometres would be open for development.

"Some areas with very high mineral potential have been identified in the assessment process," said Michael Miltenberger, N.W.T.'s minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

"Part of that high-potential area is around the diamond mines... That will be open for development to protect the mineral potential."

Steven Nitah, one of the negotiators for the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation says that proposal is "not 100 per cent supported" in Lutsel K'e.

"People identified that area to be protected in its entirety, but it is what it is and the North does rely quite heavily on the industrial development for its economy.

"It's reluctantly accepted," he said.

The Lutsel K'e Dene would be co-managers of the park. In 2013, the community released its business case for a park, which said more economic benefit would come from ecotourism in the area than development. 

The N.W.T. chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society says the legislation governing territorial parks won't provide strong enough protection for Thaidene Nene, as compared to national park status.

But Miltenberger says the less Ottawa has to do with the area, the better.

"Post-devolution, our goal is to have the smallest federal footprint and to keep the land under as much control of the people of the Northwest Territories as possible," he said.

The N.W.T. government would have to change its current Parks Act to allow for permanent land protection, but Miltenberger says even if it did, the land still may not be protected permanently.

"The reality is governments can change laws," he said.

Public consultations on the territory's proposed plan for Thaidene Nene will continue this month in Fort Smith, Hay River and Fort Resolution.

Nitah says an agreement between all three parties could be signed as early as 2017.