Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Feb 25/02) - The issue of income-benefit agreements is making its way back into legislative assembly.

Last Wednesday, Tu Nedhe MLA Steven Nitah rose before the assembly and demanded Education, Culture, and Employment Minister Jake Ootes to tell him how income-benefit agreements (IBA) between mining companies and aboriginal peoples became a reality in the Northwest Territories.

Ootes responded by saying he wasn't a party to the signing of IBAs, and regardless, such agreements fall outside of government jurisdiction any way.

"From my understanding, they are private agreements between people and private business in the Northwest Territories," said Ootes.

Nitah's persistence did not end there. He asked if such agreements were not obligatory under treaty rights, but strictly between industry and communities, then why didn't the city of Yellowknife ask for one?

Ootes was spared from answering the question. Nitah was quickly ruled out of order by Speaker Tony Whitford, and the matter was left to rest for the remainder of the session.

What makes the matter contentious, is the government's continuing practice of clawing back income support payments to recipients of IBA money.

"Clawing back one payment, usually around Christmas, is not going to get people off income support," said Nitah the following day.

Ootes was not available for comment, but Bruce Evelyn, director of income support programs, said it's a matter of fairness between those income support recipients who receive IBA money and those who don't.

"What do you do when someone one gets an IBA payment, and the other doesn't?" said Evelyn. "It's a political issue."

Pressing government

Yet, some MLAs are vowing to press the government further.

On the opening day of sessions, North Slave MLA Leon Lafferty wanted to know if Ootes had ever looked into interpreting the legality of IBAs.

Lafferty said he will likely following a similar line of questioning this week.

"My understanding is that the MOUs (memoranda of understanding) are for the loss of the land," said Lafferty on Thursday. "He's (Ootes) saying it's a business agreement."

"There must be a reason they're (mining companies) doing it through government, because it's affecting only aboriginal groups, but they (GNWT) don't want to acknowledge that.

"He's got a document saying otherwise. He doesn't want to share want to share that information with us ... Cabinet documents have been tabled before. I don't see why he can't table it. Maybe there's something there contradicting his stand."

Currently, there is no legislation concerning IBAs or participation agreements between industry and aboriginal groups in the NWT.

Tom Hoefer, Diavik Diamond Mines' manager of public and government affairs, said while the legislation doesn't exist, government pressure does.

The company currently has a participation agreement with five communities in the NWT: The Yellowknives Dene, Lutsel K'e Dene, North Slave Metis Alliance, Dogrib, and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association.

"There's an expectation on the part of government that companies will negotiate IBAs with aboriginal groups," said Hoefer.