NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Regardless of what previous premiers have to say about the end devolution deal, no one can deny getting the MLAs, most of the people of the NWT and aboriginal leaders all on side, whether by push or pull, was an achievement of uncommon determination, diplomacy and finesse.

Bob McLeod, a headstrong premier, led a government which held 140 meetings with aboriginal governments to get them on side for devolution. - NNSL file photo

Why did Premier Bob McLeod have to get aboriginal leaders on side?

"It was a requirement of Ottawa," he said. "They wanted a critical mass of aboriginal support." How did he do it? "We had 140 meetings."

It helped that the Inuvialuit, Gwich'in, Sahtu and Tlicho had settled their land claims but McLeod's depth of experience as a two-term MLA, cabinet minister and 29 years working in both the federal and territorial governments came in handy.

"I had very good knowledge of the situation and recognized there were a lot of moving parts," he said. "The first day after I got in I thought it was a long shot. After the first six months I thought it was doable."

Dealing with the two bureaucracies was not new for McLeod. He had been handpicked by the feds to handle the transfer of Forest Fire Control and Forest Management to the GNWT in 1987.

"When they asked me I told them I was doing economic development. They said, 'you can do both.'"

McLeod only agreed if he could pick the people he wanted to work with and had the authority to cross all lines and levels of responsibilities. After that, the plan was to move on to the transfer of water, land and resources. "It took 27 years to get that done."

To those who say the deal fell short of what might have been achieved, up to and including province-like status, McLeod doesn't react.

"I think we have the most important piece in place to address a lot of issues," he said. "Infrastructure, cost of living, social issues, creating jobs and development. We want to keep kids in school. Now we have to do our part to make sure there are jobs for them - with devolution."

Celebration of McLeod's crowning achievement was marred by angry voices protesting the simultaneous dismantling of the environmental monitoring boards so highly valued by the very aboriginal partners he convinced to sign on to devolution.

"Wasn't our doing," McLeod said, adding that plan had been part of Ottawa's plan since the Dene-Metis Comprehensive Land Claim in the early 1990s. "The feds were going to do whatever they wanted."

McLeod's flat tone with that comment invokes the question: What's the reception in Ottawa like for the premier of the NWT now?

"We're very highly regarded," he said. "Spoken of in the same breath as every other premier. We deal directly with the prime minister."

Senator Dennis Patterson, a staunch Conservative, credited the completion of the devolution deal in no small measure to McLeod's close relationship with Stephen Harper.

Is McLeod a Conservative?

"We are a consensus government," he said, refusing to answer the question on a personal basis. However, describing the difference between the Conservatives and Liberals, McLeod can't conceal his preference.

"The Conservatives have a Northern strategy," he said. "Devolution was a main plank. With Liberals, the concern was that we might become a Kuwait."

Once devolution is in place, the GNWT will change, McLeod said, even consensus government, especially when it comes to dealing with industry and decisions on land, water and resource management.

The biggest change will be: "We can't go back and blame everything on Ottawa."

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