Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Mar 04/02) - Beaufort Delta municipalities are stepping up pressure on the territorial government to provide funding for their participation in activities leading up to self-government.

In the past two months, Inuvik, Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Paulatuk, Holman and Tuktoyaktuk have all passed resolutions to request additional funding from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

While the Gwich'in band councils and Inuvialuit community corporations are being funded by Ottawa to ready themselves for self-government, municipalities like town councils, are considered a territorial responsibility.

So far, the GNWT hasn't provided funding for municipalities to participate, says Charles Hunter, regional co-ordinator for the Beaufort-Delta Interim Regional Council.

"We've repeatedly put in requests for funding to include non-aboriginals in self-government, but the territorial government hasn't been able to find the funding to do that kind of work," Hunter says. "The public governments are going to change under self-government, so we want them involved in the process, otherwise we won't have a great deal of success in implementing self-government."

Last week, the interim council submitted another request for funding, hoping that the co-ordinated effort of the municipal councils will convince the GNWT to cough up $80,000 a year for the municipalities.

In October, the Inuvialuit and Gwich'in reached an "agreement-in-principal" with the territorial and federal governments that will pave the way for the parties to reach a final agreement. With the framework ready, self-government activities, like community workshops are becoming more frequent.

That's going to put a strain on local governments, says Inuvik Mayor Peter Clarkson. "Every time there's a self-government workshop, it costs the town money. We're being asked to participate, but we just don't have anything in the operating budget to cover self-government."

So far, Inuvik, like most other communities, has been siphoning money from other areas to cover self-government expenses. But Clarkson says that may soon change.

"It would be all right if there was one meeting a year, but if it's a two-day workshop once a month, it adds up. We've come to the conclusion we can't afford to be sending our councillors to these meetings unless there's some type of compensation."

In Tuktoyaktuk, Mayor Eddie Dillon says the funding for self-government is just another area where the hamlet isn't receiving enough dollars.

"I'm pretty frustrated to hear that there's no more funding," he says. "We send people from our own coffers but meanwhile, we're getting cutbacks."

Dillon says the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk has seen its operating budget cut by $170,000 at a time when the federal and territorial governments are seeing an increase in revenues from regional oil and gas exploration.

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs Vince Steen could not be reached.