WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) - Manitoba's senior federal Cabinet minister plans to tour the Devils Lake outlet, saying he wants to find a solution to the long-standing cross-border feud that does not involve the courts.

"I'm not going to point fingers at the province or criticize the province, but I will certainly go down to Devils Lake and talk to officials and get a better understanding of the problem firsthand," said Vic Toews, president of the Treasury Board in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Toews said he also would like to see the damage the flooded lake has caused, and to "see if there is any way this matter can still be resolved amicably."

"(The province has) been at this a long time, and maybe a new look will open another door," he said. "I believe there is room for talking here."

The outlet pumps floodwater from Devils Lake into the Sheyenne River and ultimately the north-flowing Red River. Canadian officials worry that the outlet will pollute their waters with fish and other smaller organisms, a fear North Dakota officials say is unfounded.

The Manitoba government already is appealing to the North Dakota Supreme Court a district judge's ruling that allows the state to operate the outlet more frequently. An attorney representing Manitoba and other outlet opponents also has said a lawsuit is possible over adult minnows found recently in the open channel below the outlet.

North Dakota officials are skeptical that the minnows made it through the outlet's filter system, though they said this week that a crack was found in the intake structure and will be repaired.

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer has been critical of Toews in recent months for not pushing U.S. officials hard enough to put a more advanced filter in the outlet.

Provincial spokesman Charles McDougall said Manitoba officials "will await the outcome of (Toews') negotiations with North Dakota."