SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (MVLWB) should be established as the only land and water board in the NWT, according to Neil McCrank's just-released and long-awaited report on how to improve the NWT regulatory system.

Neil McCrank, author of a just-released set of recommendations on how to improve the NWT's regulatory system, right, answers questions as the man who appointed him to the task - Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Chuck Strahl, left - watches at his side. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

McCrank's findings, unveiled yesterday, include two options for restructuring the regulatory process, both of which recommend removing the quasi-judicial authority of regional land and water boards like the Gwich'in, Sahtu and Wek'eezhii boards.

The first option calls for removing the regional boards altogether.

The second would relegate the boards to administrative bodies, whose chief role would be to ensure land use plans are in place to help the MVLWB make decisions on potential developments.

To date, only the Gwich'in Settlement Area in the Mackenzie Valley has an approved land use plan.

The changes, said McCrank, are about "trying to ensure that there's local input, but at the right point."

"The right point is at the land use planning stage, not at the stage where you're actually dealing with the significant application that involves engineering components, economic components. That should be handled by a professional regulatory body."

Asked what the reaction among regional boards has been to his recommendations, McCrank said, "Other than reviewing those generally at a round-table in March, I didn't have (the recommendations) formulated in words at the time that I met with them."

The current system is subject to the biases of regional body members, according to McCrank.

"It is not surprising that, with the number of regulatory bodies and their members, that there are some who exhibit a bias towards or against resources development," read McCrank's report.

"This is particularly so when members are appointed as representatives of a particular group - and the orientation and training to eliminate that bias has been inadequate."

Chuck Strahl, minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development - who appointed McCrank to write the report last November - cautioned that McCrank's recommendations were just that - recommendations.

"This is not the final word, but I do want people to take this and use it as a discussion point because I think we need to move quickly to take advantage of what I think are great opportunities for Northerners," said Strahl.

But businesspeople and aboriginal groups should not presume the report is a flat-out call to support industry, he added.

"The (idea) is to make economic development easier - when it's decided to go ahead," he said.

Shelagh Montgomery, a city councillor and member of Yellowknife-based social justice group Alternatives North, agreed that land use plans should be in place for all NWT bands, but said McCrank's vision of a central board would shortchange aboriginal groups.

"I think it would be an extremely difficult thing and probably not a very wise thing to do in the Northwest Territories, given all the work that's been done for aboriginal self-government," said Montgomery.

"Essentially, you would be diminishing the rights of the various aboriginal governments or organizations in the regions to truly have influence on resource management in the NWT."

Montgomery was also disappointed that a report submitted by Alternatives North to McCrank was not included in his appendix list.

"We sent two or three e-mails asking for confirmation that they received it, and they never even responded to that," Montgomery said. "Whether or not the NGO types' submissions were considered is unclear at this point."