Hi everybody, I haven't posted since I changed job 2 years ago and lost focus, but I have followed the action on the NOT forum for the past few months, and would like to join the discussion now.

First of all; HOOV thanks for your many enlighting posts especially during the last week. They have been highly educational and useful. Based partly on my new found knowledge I have added almost 50,000 NOT shares to my holding, as I'm convinced that the obstacles will be overcome eventually.

Hmmm, where to start...

After having read about the supreme court rulings, we are all much wiser about the concept of the duty to consult, I think that the provincial Liberal government via the RoF Secretariat probably have been doing a solid job for years to "get it right". My impression from the rulings is, that it's all about the process. If the authorities are sloppy, inconsistent and don't take the FN objections seriously, they loose. But if they have done their homework so to speak, the FN will not win automatically.

The only way for the authorities to establish a consistent and robust way of consulting with the FN, has been to get the Regional Framework Agreement in place, and by "professionalizing" (or streamlining) the process, and for that purpose you'll need skilled civil servants who have the time to build a relationship with the FN chiefs like diplomats, and time to build up their compentencies - and I think this is what has happened during the past few years with the RoF Secretariat. And to me it's not surprizing if that takes up to 5 years, and that we hear very little about what's being discussed, because that's just how it is with negotiations.

So I hope that what might seem like inefficient politicians and civil servants might actually be dedicated people playing the long game of creating a situation where it is clear to the FN, that the process (that might end up with a final offer) is so well worked through by the authorities, that the FN know beforehand that they'll loose if they take it to court.

Now, the supreme court ruling about the pipeline seem like an immensely less complicated case than the RoF, and this alone would indicate lots and lots more negotiating, and hence time. To me there's nothing surprising about that.

But to me it seems like the Provincial government is very much determined to develop the RoF, they just have great respect for the process that will lead to the eventual green light. When that is said and done, I think that Whynne is genuinely surprised by the lseemingly endlessness of the negotiations with the FN, and hence the "weeks, not months" statement. But she's caught up by the fact that she can't rush negotiations without looking like she doesn't take them seriously, and thus harming the process and all the time and effort that has been put into the RoF negotiations already. Remember that there even seemed to be a subtle impatience in the recent tweet by Bob Rae about the need to be going forward.

Another thing is that the authorities are very wise to keep a close lid on the negotiations. We have seen before that as soon as the authorities announce som kind of progress, it's immidiately met with fierce oppostition from the FN chiefs. So we are kept in the dark - but that's just how it must be.

In the end I hope we will see a negotiated agreement, as it will be the fastest way to improve the quality of life for the FN peoples. It will be a real shame if the chiefs turn their backs on development, and choose confrontation for decades to come because they can't get everything on their wish list (noone can), and because it's all they know. 

Regards DRA