SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The reigning Conservative government is throwing Yellowknife a bone after all.

While the Northwest Territories lost its bid last month to house the North's new federal economic development agency in the capital, the headquarters for the federal office tasked with managing resource development projects in the North will be in Yellowknife.

Kimberly Fairman is the regional director for the CanNor office in Yellowknife. Fifteen employees from Indian and Northern Affairs in Yellowknife have been transferred into this office. - Mike W. Bryant/NNSL photo

The Northern Project Management Office will operate under the umbrella of the Iqaluit-based development agency, but its headquarters will be in Yellowknife where it will share office space with CanNor's regional office.

Kate Hearn, the management office's director-general, said it's still "early days," and issues such as staff, budget and its specific role in dealing with the various land and water boards and other regulatory agencies is still in the drafting stage, but its main job will be to co-ordinate the work of federal departments and agencies during the environmental assessment and permitting phase, consulting aboriginal groups about projects, and to guide industry and resource companies through the regulatory process in the North.

"We're co-ordinating the federal government's regulatory role," said Hearn. "The questions companies have is often, 'where's the trigger? Where do I start with? Do I start with the Fisheries authorization or the land use permit application, or which application?'"

"So we would help them map out a process, at least from the federal side, what would be an effective process to make sure the federal players are all engaged in that process and know the timing for themselves?"

The management office will also have satellite stations in the Yukon and Nunavut.

Hearn said the idea for her office was borne out of the McCrank report, a document unveiled last summer by Strahl-appointed consultant Neil McCrank, which aimed to provide advice on how to streamline the NWT's labyrinthine regulatory regime.

As for the CanNor regional office, Kimberly Fairman, its acting regional director, is in the midst of getting the agency's ninth floor Belanca Building office up and running.

So far, 15 employees from Indian and Northern Affairs' Yellowknife office have been transferred to her office, and she expects to add three more in the near future, plus another three within the next 18 months.

Besides housing the Northern Project Management Office, CanNor will be responsible for delivering a number of federal programs related to economic development in the North, some of which were formerly in the hands of INAC.

One includes Strategic Investments in Northern Economic Development, which provides $30 million over five years for the NWT to fund various projects in the territory. Another is the Aboriginal Business Development Program, with annual funding of $11.8 million to be split between the three territories.

CanNor will also oversee a two-year Community Adjustment Fund program - a $32.8 million economic stimulus package aimed at creating more Northern jobs - and will take on the federal responsibility for official language minorities.