02. NWT Pipeline Payback

The proposed mega gas pipeline through the predominantly Dene Mackenzie Valley promises mega jobs, and mega bucks, for aboriginals in the area. But not everybody is celebrating. NWT Premier Stephen Kakfwi opposes the fact that resource royalties will end up in federal coffers, and many ask what the costs will be to the aboriginal people in the corridor.

This documentary looks at the effect of a present mega-project, the giant Ekati diamond mine in the barren lands 300 km north of Yellowknife, in the community of Gameti (Rae Lakes). Many aboriginals in the area, where Dene languages are widely spoken, wonder whether the jobs and money provided by the mine come at too high a socio-cultural cost.

Locations: Gameti (Rae Lakes), Yellowknife; Ekati Diamond Mine, NWT.