On the verge of a new era governing
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Apr 06/01) - Behind closed doors, decisions are being made that will bring profound and lasting changes to the way the North is governed.
Self-government negotiations are nearing conclusion, under way or about to get under way with seven aboriginal groups that between them will one day have jurisdiction over more than 70 per cent of the Northwest Territories.
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Territorial Aboriginal Affairs Minister Jim Antoine sees the Northwest Territories developing into miniature version of Canada, "a confederation of regions," as self-government is implemented.
"Right now the feds are saying there will be one territorial government," said Antoine. "When we talk to aboriginal leaders, they see a central government and regional governments."
That does not provide a whole lot of clarity, said Deline chief negotiator Danny Gaudet.
Federal insistence on a strong central government flies in the face of aboriginal self-government, which Gaudet said is a move toward decentralization.
In an attempt to find common ground, last Thursday Gaudet gave an outline of the Deline position on self-government to Premier Stephen Kakfwi at a meeting of Sahtu leaders.
The territorial government is also attempting to bring self-government discussions into the light. It has struck a special committee that will be consulting aboriginal groups and the general public this summer and fall about their visions of government in the future.
"No one has a complete picture of what it is, because it's a work in progress," said Yellowknife MLA Sandy Lee who is co-chairing the committee with Antoine.
Gaudet said the GNWT's decision to consider its role in a self-governed NWT comes five years too late. The Dogribs are about to settle their self-government and the Beaufort Delta are on the verge of finalizing an agreement-in-principle.
"It's caused a lot of problems at the table, because they don't really have a vision of what they're going to look like," Gaudet said.
The big issues of how the power and money will be shared between the central and regional governments have yet to be resolved.
"There will be some areas where they will have major roles, areas such as health. You can't set up a stand-alone health system," said Bob Simpson, chief negotiator for the Gwich'in and Inuvialuit in Beaufort-Delta self government negotiations.
Simpson said justice -- courts and policing -- is another area that would likely be administered by a central government.
The territorial government is not surrendering its powers easily, Simpson said. Asked what powers the GNWT is reluctant to give up, he said, "well, with all of them there's some form of resistance, but when you get down to it you have to have reasons (for denying the transfer of power)." Antoine said there is no effort, at least at the political level, to cling to power.
Though power is a focus, money is probably the biggest issue at the negotiating table, Simpson said.
A major point of contention is whether federal funding for services administered by aboriginal governments will flow directly to them or pass through the hands of the territorial government.
Another issue being weighed is the cost of setting up new governments and the added operating expense that comes with decentralization.
"Whenever you create another entity you're going to create first time start up costs and there may be additional ongoing costs," Antoine said.
"Our position is that these incremental costs must be borne 100 per cent by the feds."
Antoine said a that DIAND Minister Robert Nault agreed Ottawa will cover all incremental costs associated with self-government. The territorial government will be paying close attention to the federal government's definition of incremental costs.
"How the Beaufort-Delta and Dogrib self-government agreements are concluded will signal how future governments will be structured," Antoine said.
