Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

BAKER LAKE (July 21/99) - The hamlet of Baker Lake was the big loser in Kivalliq after decentralization numbers were released earlier this month and Baker Lake's MLA, Glen McLean, says it appears most cabinet members are taking care of themselves rather than following the decentralization model.

Baker Lake lost more than 50 per cent of its government jobs with the release of the new numbers, having only 30 of a targeted 65 jobs confirmed to date. McLean says he's most upset over losing jobs associated with having the Workers' Compensation Board placed there, something, he says, was guaranteed the hamlet.

"When Jack Anawak was the interim commissioner he came right into Baker and said our community getting the Workers Compensation Board was written in stone," says McLean.

"The Department of Health and Social Services was supposed to move out of Rankin Inlet, according to Footprints Two, and into Baker Lake. That would have given us our 65 jobs.

"Suddenly they didn't want to displace people in Rankin Inlet. We understood that. We didn't want people living in Baker who didn't want to be here, but Anawak gave us his word we'd have that department.

"All of a sudden cabinet has a secret meeting in Apex and comes out and says, 'It's only a paper promise. We can't guarantee this plan.' I think that's a bunch of crap."

McLean says everyone understands decentralization isn't going to happen overnight, but he'd like to know what the Nunavut Implementation Commission (NIC) did for four years with the decentralization model.

"By the looks of it, cabinet's saying what NIC suggested was so totally off the wall it can't be followed. I don't think bureaucrats should be saying things like, 'We have to look at everything on an individual basis,' and I really question if these bureaucrats are even thinking about decentralization.

"The premier tells us decentralization is a priority issue, but, it appears to me, cabinet, with the exception of Arviat, are really only taking care of themselves."

Arviat and Rankin Inlet both eclipsed their targeted job numbers, with Rankin going from 167.5 to 173 and Arviat moving up to 75.5 from a targeted 72.

Arviat MLA Kevin O'Brien says despite some unavoidable implementation pains, decentralization will work and is needed in Nunavut.

"I find our new premier refreshingly honest and dedicated to decentralization," says O'Brien.

"That's not to say all his associates are, but he's the boss. Cabinet is doing as much as it can with decentralization, especially the premier, it's just going to take some time to ensure jobs being allocated to various communities fit in there.

"Where they don't fit, we have to find jobs from the community that gained something and put them back into the community that lost. I know it's very disappointing for Baker Lake to lose 31 jobs out of 60, but unforeseen circumstances caused the situation."

O'Brien says there's an argument about the cost factor involved with decentralization, but says it's only something you hear when jobs are being placed in smaller hamlets.

"There doesn't seem to be any big argument when you're placing 150 or 200 extra jobs in Iqaluit, but when it comes to the smaller communities suffering from high unemployment, this issue raises its ugly head and that's not fair to anybody."