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INUVIK
The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) has followed the lead of the GNWT in approving the Northwest Territories Land and Resources Devolution Agreement.

NWT Premier Bob McLeod was in Inuvik June 10. He took some time to discuss the devolution agreement, which has now been approved by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

On June 9, the IRC board of directors ratified the agreement, which transfers jurisdiction over land and resources to the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) from Canada.

"The Inuvialuit have been involved in devolution negotiations for almost 25 years," stated Nellie Cournoyea, IRC chairperson and CEO, in a news release. "We worked hard to ensure that the land and resource management system under the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) will not be affected."

Cournoyea added "there are still serious intergovernmental arrangements to be made with the GNWT to protect the environment and wildlife to meet IFA objectives.

"The transfer of responsibilities, while bringing management of resources and the environment under the jurisdiction of the territorial government, does not change the obligations of the federal government under the IFA," she said. "We continue to expect all governments to adhere to those obligations and to work to achieve full implementation of the goals of the IFA."

NWT Premier Bob McLeod was in Inuvik June 10 attending the Inuvik Petroleum Show. While the IRC decision hadn't been announced at that point, he talked up the benefits of the devolution agreement.

"It's another step forward, and it's a big step," McLeod said. "I think there's a lot of advantages. I think the people who will be most affected by the decision will be making the decisions. The people who live here that know the land the best will control the pace and scale of development and maximize the benefits. Our message has always been that we want balanced development so we have jobs and opportunities.

"As we go forward we'll be able to shape the process to meet our Northern needs and priorities and use Northern tools to manage the land."

McLeod bristled a little when he was asked about the resistance toward the agreement that was evident at the public meeting in Inuvik last month. At that meeting, as in others held around the NWT, audience members weren't happy about the "take it or leave it" nature of the agreement.

"I don't know how anybody could characterize 12 years of negotiations as cramming it down their throats," he said. "People should try to stay on top of the issues and not whine about it at the last minute."

McLeod said he thought the regional administrative centres, such as Inuvik, would benefit from the agreement.

"It pushes decision-making out to the regions, and I think we'll see a lot of that," he said. "We'll see more jobs located, not only in Inuvik, but we'll come up with plans and funding so some of the jobs will go to the smaller communities."

McLeod readily acknowledged improvements to the education system are needed to make sure that NWT residents are better prepared and qualified to compete for those jobs.

"As a government, that's probably the most frustrating thing right now. We have a good development pace, at least in the southern parts of the territories right now, and we have a lot of fly-in and fly-out workers, and yet in the smaller communities we have a lot of unemployment. We have to find a way to give them the skill sets to fit the jobs."

McLeod said the government is working on how to improve the graduation rates of aboriginals in the school system so that they can access those jobs.

"A lot of change takes place one step at a time," he said.

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