Inuvik (Jan 31/05) - The Aboriginal Summit is falling apart, say chiefs involved in the devolution process.

"We have to tell Canada it's not working," says Aklavik Chief Charlie Furlong.

The Summit negotiates resource sharing and transfers with the federal government on behalf of aboriginal groups. It came under fire recently after Beaufort-Delta Gwich'in chiefs suggested it was time the aboriginal groups dealt directly with Canada.

Devolution agreements with individual aboriginal groups could not work, says David Peterson, chief negotiator for the federal government, and former premier of Ontario.

"Devolution will only come through the Summit and you couldn't do devolution individually," he says. "You can do land claims, you can do self-government, but you can't do devolution." All the parties involved agree that devolution negotiations with the federal government are taking too long. Each side though, has managed to blame the other. "Quite simply there's been no progress," Furlong says. "I would like to see the Gwich'in approach Canada directly to speed the process to sharing resources."

A soft mandate on governance issues and unclear direction for federal negotiators has prevented any deals from being struck, says Don Morin, Aboriginal Summit CEO.

"It's the federal government that's holding it up," he says. "I'm not talking about process hold-up, I'm talking about political hold-up," Morin explains. "When the political masters are saying the right thing and it's not transferred down to the negotiators, then you've got a problem."

With a lack of commitment and settled land claims for all of its members, the Summit will never achieve its goal, Furlong says. The possibility of joint negotiations with other landowners, such as the Sahtu and Tlicho groups, would be another strong option, he says.

Tsiigehtchic Chief Peter Ross is also frustrated with the lack of progress made by the Summit.

"All along, I too would like to see us dealing directly with Canada. That's my feeling all the time, on everything," Ross says.

If the Summit is going to work, Ross believes one of the first steps is to replace southern consultants with former NWT premiers and other Northern politicos. "They know how the government works, they'd be a big asset," Ross says.

But it's the Summit, not the federal negotiators that is to blame for delays, Peterson says.

"The reason we were held up for three or four months is because the Summit switched negotiators (last fall) and didn't negotiate for four months," Peterson says.