by P.J. Harston
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jan 17/97) - The proposed constitution for the Western Arctic is undemocratic and divisive, says a Reform Party report on the Western Arctic.

John Duncan, the Reform Party's critic for Indian affairs, authored the report, called 'Whither Bound? The Western NWT after Nunavut.'

The report, released Tuesday in Edmonton, begins by criticizing the Conservative government for ramming the establishment of Nunavut through parliament in 1993.

It ends with a recommendation to abandon the idea of a made-in-the-North Western Arctic constitution in favor of the status quo.

Sandwiched in between is what the report calls a study that provides the background to options that are being considered for setting up a new Western Arctic government.

The report says that the North has changed dramatically over the last 30 years and is no longer the pristine vastness inhabited by independent aboriginals, a perception still held today by southern Canadians:

• the nomadic Northern aboriginals now live in scattered villages and have become overwhelmingly dependent on government programs and subsidized housing

• scheduled air travel has drastically reduced travel time and remoteness and makes all communities more readily accessible

• frozen chicken is more readily available than caribou or seal meat

• only a small minority of aboriginals continue to live off the land and hunters are often paid by the government to hunt.

The report also details evidence that says the federal government has played a part in eroding the independence and self-reliance of Northern aboriginals:

• only one per cent of aboriginal students graduate from high school, despite enormous amounts of money being spent on education

• the government is the largest employer in the territories, employing nearly 70 per cent of the workforce

• 90 per cent of the GNWT's billion-dollar budget comes from Ottawa.

The report says that economically "the NWT is still a basket case," with most Northern communities economically and socially depressed and dependent on transfers from Ottawa and the territorial government.

After examining two reports and an inquiry into territorial division undertaken since the mid-1960s, Duncan's report goes on to look at the status of land claims and the modern era of constitutional development.

The report says that federal Northern Affairs Minister Ron Irwin "appears to not understand the deep tribal/racial power struggle that is behind the current (constitutional) troubles."

And that many non-aboriginals are very reluctant to take part or speak openly about constitutional development.

"Many of those who are keenly interested in these matters either work for, or their businesses are dependent upon the GNWT," the report states.

"(However), their full participation is essential to the success of any new government structure in the NWT."

The report says the proposed constitution, which was unveiled last October, "has the effect of diminishing the rights of non-aboriginals, is undemocratic, and is racially divisive."

In response to a proposed government with guaranteed aboriginal seats and special rights "amounting to a permanent veto for a racially-based group", the report says that currently 14 good MLAs represent Western arctic ridings, 10 of them aboriginal.

In conclusion, the report states that too much is happening too fast in the territories.

It points to recent diamond mining activities, land claims and self-government negotiations, Northern accord discussions with the federal government, Nunavut issues, federal and territorial government staff reductions and federal transfer payment reductions.

"The Western NWT is suffering from government initiative overload at a time when the focus of government should be on the economic and social welfare of the people," the report states.

"The constitutional proposals are receiving a hostile reception from the non-aboriginal population for good reason and should be shelved."