Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A meeting in Yellowknife has failed to convince opponents to support a federal proposal to consolidate the NWT's land and water boards into just one.

"The aboriginal leadership, all of us sitting in that room, were 100 per cent united that we do not want the restructuring of the boards," said Betty Villebrun, president of the Northwest Territory Metis Nation.

Even John Pollard, the federal negotiator for the regulatory proposal, said he doesn't know if he convinced anyone to support the idea.

The March 28 and 29 meeting, hosted by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, was to discuss proposed amendments to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. Along with federal officials, the gathering involved First Nations, aboriginal governments and the GNWT - about 50 people in all.

Following the meeting, Pollard disputed the description of the federal proposal as a super board.

"I've heard that term used. This is by no means a super board," he said. "It's just one board for land and water management in the Mackenzie Valley and that board already exists because the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board is that board right now and those regional panels in the Sahtu, the Gwich'in and the Tlicho areas are regional panels of that board. So the board already exists."

Under the federal proposal, the three regional boards - created when land claims were settled - would cease to exist, and no new boards would be created when other land claims are settled.

"The government believes these improvements will position the North for job creation and long-term economic growth, which will benefit all Canadians and Northerners," Pollard said.

Plus, he argued the existing system is not sustainable, noting there are already 20 people on the main board and regional panels. "Each time a land claim is settled, if we carried on in the same vein, there would be another five-person panel and another five-person panel. Before long, you'd be up over 40 people as

these claims are settled."

Instead, he said the federal government is proposing a more streamlined system and a board for all of the Mackenzie Valley with good regional representation.

However, Villebrun noted the proposed one board would have 11 members with six of them, including the chair, being appointed by the federal government, and one member each appointed by the five regions of the NWT.

"You wouldn't really have any say over your own land and resources," she said. "Everything would be mostly industry."

Pollard said the proposal is still in the consultation stage with aboriginal groups within the confines and requirements of the three settled land claims, which are constitutionally protected documents, and within the requirements of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.

"We need to try and accommodate their concerns and we need to tell them why we can't accommodate their concerns if we're unable to," he said.

Aboriginal groups would not have a veto to stop the changes if the federal government decides to proceed.

"We're not at that place right now where we're thinking about that," Pollard said. "We're very hopeful that we're going to sit down and discuss this in a meaningful way and get people's views and see how we can accommodate those views."

Court action possible

Villebrun suggested, if the federal government proceeds with board restructuring without the support of aboriginal organizations, the matter might end up in court.

Pollard, a former mayor of Hay River and a former territorial finance minister, noted he is sometimes asked if the proposal includes wildlife boards and the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. "The answer to that, emphatically, is no. This is only to do with land and water boards in the Mackenzie Valley."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.