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MINISTER NAULT ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENTS TO MACKENZIE VALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REVIEW BOARD

Ottawa, Ontario(October 24, 2003) - The Honourable Robert D. Nault, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, announced today that Bernadette Stewart and Percy Hardisty have been appointed to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. The appointments are effective immediately.

Ms. Stewart is a former public servant who has worked in both Nunavut and the Northwest Territories since moving north in 1985. She is currently President of Braden-Burry Expediting Ltd., and has also been an active member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Hardisty, a member of the Deh Cho First Nations, has served in the Canadian Armed Forces, and is currently involved in community development work as a counsellor with the Fort Providence Residential School Society in Fort Simpson, NWT. He also served as Chief for the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation, and co-ordinated the 29^th Dene National Assembly.

"I am very pleased to support these two appointments," said Minister Nault. "Their strong civic involvement in very different areas of public life, and their deep roots in Northern affairs will contribute to the important and critical work undertaken by this board."

The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board is responsible for conducting environmental assessments of developments in the Mackenzie Valley of the Northwest Territories. The board was established pursuant to the Gwich'in and Sahtu Comprehensive Land Claim Agreements when the federal government enacted the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. It provides Northerners with a vehicle to participate in the environmental assessment decision making process.

For more information, please contact:

Diane Laursen
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
(819) 994-2044

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