INUVIK - Two of the four candidates seeking a seat in Parliament in the May 2 election were in Inuvik this past week to meet with residents and discuss why they are the best fit to represent the territory in Ottawa.

Joe Handley, Liberal candidate for the Western Arctic, addresses a crowd of about a dozen on Friday night at Ingamo Hall during a weekend visit to the Beaufort Delta region. Sitting in the background are Tom Wright and Gwich'in Tribal Council president Richard Nerysoo. Handley said if he gets elected he would work to put aside the current devolution agreement-in-principle and work toward a new one that includes aboriginal governments right from the outset. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photos

Both Liberal candidate Joe Handley and Conservative candidate Sandy Lee were in town, shaking hands and meeting with residents, business owners and local government officials to sell them on why they would be best to serve the NWT.

Devolution, the Mackenzie Gas Project and the Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik all-weather road were hot topics of discussion during both Handley and Lee's meetings, held Friday at Ingamo Hall and Monday at the Mackenzie Inn, respectively. Lee said if the Conservatives win the election in May, the $150 million investment for the Tuk to Inuvik all-weather road in March's budget, and the building and maintaining of the road, will have a positive effect on the territory.

"It's going to train young people, it's going to give jobs," she said. "It's going to create meaningful, substantial jobs for many, many families for generations to come. It's a great investment but it's also a statement by Canada that we are part of the action. We want to stimulate the economy in Northern Canada and open it up for responsible development."

When asked about the road, Handley said it's something he views as important to moving the territory forward. However, he was skeptical of the announcement, adding the actual money wasn't in the line-by-line budget.

"It's questionable if it's not in the line items," he said. "We can't find it. Besides that, if they committed it, we need the money."

When it came down to devolution, Handley said the territory gaining control over its own resource revenue is an important end goal. However, he added, the current agreement-in-principle, signed earlier this year, isn't going to give the territory enough control. He said the territory should get all its resource revenues and then pay Canada back its agreed portion, like the provinces do, adding he'd like to start the entire process over to include aboriginal governments right from day one.

"They did not include the third level of government, aboriginal government," he said. "You've got to include people right from the beginning.

"We want to sit down with everyone who has a stake in this and figure out what's a better way of doing a devolution deal."

Lee said the agreement-in-principle is a chance for the territory to finally get control over its own resources and the revenues that come with it and said it's important to have all the leaders in the territory at the table trying to reach a final agreement.

"Without it we cannot get to the next stage and we need to continue to negotiate and work through," she said. "We have too many people suffering because we don't have enough means and resources to provide for the services our people need. If we had a devolution deal, in the last five years the GNWT would have received $200 million more. That's a lot of money.

"We are stretched to the max and we cannot continue to do what we are doing and be able to provide services for the people."

Both Handley and Lee have had their hand in territorial politics - Handley is a former premier of the NWT and Lee was Range Lake MLA in Yellowknife and the minister of Health and Social Services in the current territorial government, positions she resigned upon becoming the Conservative candidate.

The two former territorial politicians will face off against incumbent Dennis Bevington with the NDP, Eli Purchase with the Green Party and Bonnie Dawson with the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada.

Voters head to the polls on May 2.

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