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'A bad time to lose a month of parliamentary business' Prorogation of Parliament could cause problems with devolution implementation, says MP
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Monday, August 26, 2013
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's plan to prorogue parliament and wait until after the Thanksgiving break to begin a new session could delay the devolution transfer date, according to Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington.
Although the territorial government has already passed a motion to approve the proposed deal which would see most powers over lands and resources transfer to the territory, Ottawa must also pass a devolution implementation bill before the transfer can be completed.
"This is a bad time to lose a month of parliamentary business," said Bevington of Harper's announcement he will be asking the Governor General to prorogue parliament. "This is a government whose mandate and direction are falling apart, as far as I can see, and they don't want to be in front of Parliament right now."
Typically, a new piece of legislation takes about six months to pass first and second reading, be debated in the House of Commons, have a hearing before committee, receive third reading and be made into law.
With a projected transfer date of April 1, 2014, the clock is ticking.
"Even with the smallest amendments that we make, say the Nunavut environmental legislation that was passed last year along with the Surface Rights Board Act - those two were lumped together - we had months of hearings on those, and that's much less significant than what's going on with devolution," said Bevington.
Premier Bob McLeod said he is still confident the expected transfer date of April 1 can be met.
"Prorogation is a parliamentary tool. It's very similar to our legislature - we prorogue as well when it's appropriate," he said. "For us, the most important thing is the April 1 devolution transfer date and that the legislation has to be passed in both houses - in the houses of Parliament and in our legislative assembly.
"The timeline is very tight but manageable and I think everybody is comfortable that we can meet the transfer date of April 1."
McLeod recently spoke with Harper and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt about devolution preparations in Hay River on Aug. 19.
"I think (the conversation) went very well. (Harper) felt, and I agree, that it's a very significant and historic agreement and arrangement, so I think we're all very pleased and we want to continue through to make sure it happens by April 1," said McLeod.
When asked whether he is worried there will be enough time to pass an implementation bill through Parliament, McLeod said, "I've got the assurance of the prime minister and Mr. Valcourt, and that's good enough for me."
Whether or not the federal legislation will face opposition in Ottawa remains to be seen and depends entirely on the contents of the bill, said Bevington.
"What could cause problems would be if within the devolution implementation bill, they include changes to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, for instance," said Bevington.
The federal government has been promising sweeping changes to the act, whose powers will not be transferred to the GNWT under the current devolution deal for some time. It proposes to dissolve current resource management boards and create a single super-board to manage the environmental impacts of development for the entire territory.
"If that's going to be lumped in with the implementation bill, it's going to cause a lot of issues in Parliament. I mean, I'm not going to simply put up with that," he said. "That would mean that something that's agreed upon is tied in with something that is not agreed upon."
Although there has been more than 10 years of negotiations on the terms of this transfer of power, Bevington said changes are still possible.
"Until we see the bill, you don't know," he said.
The federal government could decide to release the devolution implementation bill before Parliament resumes, which is now expected to be in late October. That could help speed up the process, said Bevington.
Meanwhile, the stakes for implementing devolution on time are growing with every resource extraction project that receives approval.
"We are providing for a seamless transition because there are some very significant resources that will be foregone if we don't meet those dates," said McLeod.
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