Editor:

Chief Fred Sam is right about one thing - there is an awful lot of “crap” lately.

With all the “crap” hopefully we all learn a little as we weed through it.

I found the letter submitted by Carrier Sekani Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee B Sc.,FIT, in last week’s Courier in response to a letter I had submitted on Oct. 7 to completely miss the points I had referred to. The inability of Mr. Teegee to address the basic issues stated in the letter he was responding to was confusing coming from a man who proudly displays his intelligence in bold print announcing his education following his name. In his haste to belittle me by pointing out my perceived ignorance of the issues, Mr. Teegee entirely missed the point I made with respect to the double standard the Nak’azdli council has with Environmental Assessment (EA).

Let me spell it out for you, Mr. Teegee. I used a Nak’azdli band development (supermarket) currently being built next to Petro to illustrate the double standard issue. Chief Fred Sam responded by stating in the Oct 14 issue of the Courier an EA had been done for Petro many years ago and that he had never seen any wildlife in that area, therefore, that was a sufficient, recognizable EA for this new project as far as Nak’azdli was concerned. Yet the newer, improved, up to date EA with stiffer environmental laws, current research and advanced technology currently being utilized for the Terrane Metals project is not good enough for Chief Fred Sam and the Nak’azdli band. On the one hand an out of date (10-15 years old) EA on an old gas station is good enough for a new Nak’azdli development; on the other hand the newer, modern EA on a non-Nak’azdli development is insufficient.

The other issue I raised in my previous letter and directed towards the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC) whom Mr. Teegee represented in his response to me in last week’s Courier was about conflict of interest. Chief Fred Sam responded in his Oct. 14 letter that it was okay for the chief to wear many hats. Maybe Mr. Teegee was too preoccupied with calling me “blatantly ignorant” to respond to this issue.

The comment that Mr. Teegee made about the EA process pertaining to the Terrane Metals development being unfair and non-inclusive is false. Nak’azdli, along with other band councils in the area, were fairly invited to be included in the EA process. It was Chief Fred Sam and the Nak’azdli band council that chose to be non-inclusive by refusing to participate.

Ms. Bird, you wrote a good letter. I learned from it.

Rick Klassen B.Td, M.Td,

U of LC (1984,1996)