Yellowknife (Sep 10/03) - The Northwest Territories doesn't want the whole pie, it just wants its fair share.

That was the message Premier Stephen Kakfwi delivered to a group of businessmen in New York City Monday.

Stephen Kakfwi

Transferring authority for non-renewable resources from the federal government to the territorial government was the primary emphasis behind a speech delivered by the premier to the Manhattan Penn Club.

Getting a fair deal on resources -- primarily on oil and gas as well as diamonds -- will help in the orderly conduct of business, Kakfwi said. During the speech the premier also noted the Northwest Territories was ideally situated to supply the United States with a reliable source of energy.

Speculation surrounding so-called "devolution," the transferring of authority from the federal government to the territorial government, has run rampant recently among Yellowknife's political insiders. Legal eagles from former Ontario premier David Peterson's law firm -- now chief federal negotiator for territorial devolution -- have been in town staking out a potential agreement in principle.

While Kakfwi is saying publicly that he plans to hold the prime minister's feet to the coals over the issue, privately, the premier may be even more confident an impending deal is in the works.

That confidence may be an expression of the initialing of a framework for the devolution agreement, released by Kakfwi July 21.

Step 2 in the process, said Richard Bargery, deputy minister of Aboriginal Affairs, is an agreement in principle and the final stage will be the devolution transfer.

The premier said he wants the process for devolution in place before Chretien leaves office in February.

"I'd like to see some indication of this by the fall. I'm hoping the prime minister will kick the Department of Finance into gear," Kakfwi said.

The Northwest Territories is not looking for a deal similar to Alberta where all of the resources are controlled by provincial authorities.

"We're just looking for a fair deal. It's our resources and our land.

"We don't manage the land, the water or the resources. It's totally unacceptable for the Northwest Territories to be treated as a colony of Ottawa," said the premier.