NWT opposes Alaskan drilling

IQALUIT — The Northwest Territories assembly says oil companies shouldn’t drill in an Alaskan wildlife preserve.

The NWT assembly last week passed a motion opposing oil and gas exploration in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, which borders the Arctic Ocean.

The bill was sponsored by David Krutko, MLA for the Mackenzie Delta. Krutko represents many Gwich’in Indians, who worry that oil-drilling in ANWR will harm the Porcupine caribou herd that they depend on for subsistence.

Ottawa has also come out in opposition to oil exploration in ANWR.

But Inuit on Alaska’s north slope have long lobbied to open the refuge. Much of the land where drilling would take place is owned by the Inuit, who would stand to gain economically from the oil development.

Two bills were recently introduced in the U.S. Congress proposing that the refuge be opened. President George W. Bush has said drilling in ANWR will be a key component of his effort to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.