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Surface rights board now law GNWT will maintain federal board post-devolution, says minister
Lyndsay Herman
Northern News Services
Published Friday, July 12, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Legislation creating a new regulatory board in the NWT became law last month and not all responses are positive.
"This legislation would apply to built-up areas of municipalities, even Yellowknife," said Kevin O'Reilly, a spokesperson for Alternatives North. "If you don't own the mineral rights under your property, somebody can stake claims in your yard and all they have to do, basically, is compensate you for the value of any buildings or disruption they might cause but at the end of the day they are entitled to get the minerals, no matter what."
Bill C-47, which includes both the NWT Surface Rights Board Act and the Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act, received royal assent June 19.
Neither the territorial government nor the City of Yellowknife were willing to comment on whether the board will make it easier for resource development to take place in the city.
Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington said he supported an amendment to the bill which would exempt municipal and community lands from the board's jurisdiction but it was not included in the final bill.
The NWT Surface Rights Board, which doesn't come into force until June 19, 2015, will consist of between five and nine members, as well as five alternate members, appointed by the minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.
All of the appointed members must be NWT residents who demonstrate knowledge applicable to the board's goals as well as demonstrated aboriginal traditional knowledge.
Moreover, one board member and one alternate member must be from each of the four settlement areas of the NWT: from land designated in the Gwich'in Agreement; from Inuvik or specific areas of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the NWT; from land designated in the Sahtu Agreement; and Monfwi Gogha De Niitlee, land designated in the Tlicho Agreement.
Bevington said the GNWT may have an opportunity to make changes once it assumes control over legislation regarding resource development as part of its recently signed devolution agreement with Ottawa.
The board will be used to settle disputes between surface and subsurface land rights-holders when all other forms of negotiation have failed after a project has already secured a land use permit and water licence through the appropriate regulatory board.
The GNWT heralded the NWT Surface Rights Board Act as a positive step forward in a news release on June 20.
"This legislation fulfils a commitment in the Tlicho, Gwich'in, and Sahtu land claims," states Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger in the news release.
"It creates a board of NWT residents who will resolve disputes between land owners and those who want access."
The Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce believes the confidence the board will give industry will benefit Yellowknife businesses.
"Given that the majority of businesses in the NWT are located in Yellowknife, it has been a long-time supplier of services to the resource sector throughout the NWT - it will be very positive for Yellowknife businesses," said the chamber's executive director Leslie Campbell.
However, O'Reilly questions the board's obligation to make an access order, meaning the board cannot prevent a party awarded a land use permit and water licence from the relevant regulatory body from accessing a parcel of land for mineral exploration, production, or development. The board can only set the compensation awarded to surface rights-holders and timelines for access.
Alternatives North's submission to a Senate committee examining the bill also questions the value of the legislation, since arbitration measures are already in place and conflicts like one the subsurface board would address have not been an issue.
Miltenberger's statement says the legislation is preventative and will ensure that disputes will not mean high costs or lost time in court.
"Almost all of our land matters can be dealt with through existing processes," Miltenberger states. "But in the rare cases where there are disputes between surface and subsurface rights-holders, this board will avoid costly, lengthy court cases. This is an important step in completing the regulatory system in the NWT and new territorial legislation will maintain the board's role after devolution."
According to a GNWT report, Nunavut and the Yukon have had similar legislation in place for years, however, only one dispute has been heard by their respective boards.
Cabin owner, past Yellowknife mayor, and experienced land administrator David Lovell, said he'd rather see government focus its resources on a problem already prevalent in the territory - a lack of regulation enforcement with regards to squatters on the Ingraham Trail.
"The problem in the territories has been the lack of administration over land use," said Lovell. "So another board does not help at all unless the territorial government puts some resources in to existing regulations and laws.
"If things were functioning, if there was enforcement in place, then a board would be a great thing. Like a mediation thing - I'm all for it. Otherwise it's just sort of a Band-Aid over a boil. It doesn't do anything for the boil, it just looks good and makes the politicians look good."
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