N.W.T. aims to sign water agreement with Alberta

The Northwest Territories hopes to convince Alberta to sign a transboundary water agreement by 2011, Environment Minister Michael Miltenberger says.

The N.W.T. haslonghad concerns about its southern neighbour's use of waters that cross the N.W.T. border into the Mackenzie River.

Miltenberger released a draft water strategy forN.W.T. on Wednesday and has already sent some copies to the Alberta government.

"We're ready," Miltenberger told reporters in Yellowknife.

"Even though we're a small jurisdiction of people, and we are going to be up against some big tables with very powerful neighbours, [we're confident] that we'll be able to hold our own because we've taken the time to prepare."

The quality of water coming from Alberta especially through the oilsands near Fort McMurray has long worried N.W.T. residents like Tim Heron of Fort Smith, who said he has seen deformed fish and low river levels in his area.

"I've never seen rocks in that middle of that Slave River in my life until three or four years ago," said Heron, who is also with the N.W.T. Mtis nation.

"There's a 90-year-old person there.He said he's never seen it before."

The territorial government has been trying to reach a transboundary water agreement with Alberta for at least 20 years, but efforts to date have not worked.

"The Mackenzie River Basin Transboundary Agreement has never been fully implemented," Miltenberger said.

"It's a organization that has had the same budget for 13 years, a quarter of a million dollars. They've had very little political attention paid to it."

This time, it will be different, Miltenberger said,because the N.W.T. is more prepared than ever and because people are more aware of water issues.