Yellowknife (Apr 11/05) - A snag over resource royalty revenues will likely push a devolution agreement back until later in May, says Premier Joe Handley.

Last week's visit to Ottawa with all 19 MLAs present, plus nine aboriginal leaders, and 12 representatives from the NWT business community, seemed to have helped move things along, the premier said, but the hope of getting a devolution agreement-in-principle by the end of this month appears to be fading.

Premier Handley: Anxious for agreement.

The clock is ticking. Handley is anxious more than ever to get a devolution agreement signed now that talk is circulating of another federal election call in Ottawa.

The MLA trip to Ottawa last week corresponded with explosive revelations coming from the Gomery Inquiry into the federal sponsorship program - revelations that could potentially bring down the government and force the GNWT to start from scratch with a new regime.

Handley had hoped the federal government would've made an offer during final negotiation meetings in Edmonton two weeks ago, but it didn't happen.

"The main thing is money," said Handley.

"We're close on a devolution transfer of programs and services, but we weren't even out of the starting gate on resource revenue sharing."

He said Finance Minister Ralph Goodale proposed a substantial amount of money to be shared with aboriginal governments last week, but they would have to justify how much the territory really needs to kick-start devolution.

The premier said Goodale told him the territory will have to someday start giving some of its resource revenue royalties back once the NWT becomes a "have" jurisdiction.

Handley expects the NWT to reach this status by 2009 or 2010 after the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline begins to flow.

Right now, three-quarters of the territorial government's annual budget - about $725 million - comes from Ottawa.

The premier said royalties from diamonds and oil and gas alone will likely peak at $500 million per year.

"We can't just become a super wealthy jurisdiction and have other jurisdictions in Canada end up being paupers," said Handley.

The premier's government is faced with other irritants besides getting an agreement-in-principle signed.

Some aboriginal groups, including the Deh Cho and Akaitcho, have been less than enthusiastic about getting a devolution deal signed, and are thus not participating, or acting only as observers.

While the NWT delegation was in Ottawa last week, Aklavik Chief Charlie Furlong fired off a letter to the prime minister encouraging him to meet directly with aboriginal leaders instead of accepting the Aboriginal Summit as the sole negotiating arm of aboriginal governments.

He said the summit is fractured and unable to represent all of them.

"The Aboriginal Summit is really not effective," said Furlong.

"Canada has chosen to use that as its obligation to consult (but) it's not working with the communities."

Summit executive director Don Morin said a devolution agreement, however, will contain a clause that clearly states aboriginal claims will not be superseded by agreements with the territory.

"We've passed that hurdle and now we have to have an agreement on revenues flowing from our lands and how we're going to share our revenues with the government of the Northwest Territories," said Morin.

Handley quickly brushed off Furlong's complaints, saying he doesn't understand the process.

"That's Charlie," said Handley.

"Charlie's Charlie. He's not involved, I really don't think he has all the information."

Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche, who is from the Deh Cho, said he hopes all the parties will at least get down to talking with each other again at the Circle of Northern Leader's meeting in Inuvik, April 18-20.

"Today, obviously we're not on the same page, so that's the way to do it is to sit down together in a common place," said Menicoche.