SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Zabey Nevitt's goal on joining the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board is to work towards a more integrated land and water board system throughout the territory.

Zabey Nevitt is settling in as the new executive director of the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board. Nevitt brings four years experience as director of the Wek'eezhii Land and Water Board to his new role, with hopes to bring consistency to the territorial land and water board process. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

As executive director for the Wek'eezhii Land and Water Board, the Tlicho-established board in charge of land and water in the region, Nevitt has been working closely with other agencies.

"We need to be more consistent and bring clarity to how the boards operate," Nevitt said from his office in Yellowknife. "We need a more consistent system."

While boards represent each region of the territory, Nevitt said it's crucial to the success of the board system to be on the same page when it comes to certain things, while allowing for each region to carry their values in the decision-making process.

"You have to realize they are independent, but it doesn't mean the systems that support that can't be consistent," he said.

"You can have consistent procedures, policies, even technical, legal and policy advice going to each of these boards so at the end of the day all the information that's coming out is consistent and the decision makers are making decisions based on regional beliefs."

Nevitt said this work has been going on for more than two years, before Neil McCrank released his report on the regulatory system in the North, which aimed to provide advice on how to streamline the regime. Nevitt said half a dozen working groups are looking at different parts of environmental board processes, and at ways to make things simpler.

"You will have boards making decisions based on that moment in time," he said, adding it's tough for proponents to know what they will expect, making it difficult for them to understand the process.

"We need to write down specific guidelines for them so we don't go through situations we've had over the years where one company is doing a little work and another is doing a lot of work. It's about developing consistency between companies the best you can and between regions as well.

"As long as the rules are clear, that's what we need to focus on. Companies will be more receptive."

Nevitt said his vision for the board is to support the other boards, "so they can say we need help with this or that and we can provide all that technical, policy and communication support they might be looking for and potentially providing some economies of scale in the way things are done."