Aboriginal Pipeline Group, a consortium of Canadian First Nation communities, expects to announce by the end of January how it will secure funding for its one-third share of the proposed Mackenzie River Delta natural gas pipeline project. After a year of negotiations with the federal government for financing, the Aboriginal Pipeline Group may turn to private sources as well. Gas producers in the region are optimistic about the Mackenzie River project, although only preliminary environmental and engineering studies have been done, and a competing proposal to run the pipeline through northern Alaska has not yet been discarded. The project enjoys wide support among First Nation communities, due to the Group’s involvement and the expectation of economic growth in northern Canada.See Spotlight
