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Commissioner's awards fade with little fanfare
Award to be replaced with new Order of the Northwest Territories

Meagan Leonard
Northern News Services
Monday, June 22, 2015

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
A new award, the Order of the NWT, will be given out this year for the first time.

NNSL photo/graphic

Prince Charles, left, sits beside former Northwest Territories Commissioner Stuart Hodgson in May 1978. Prince Charles visited Yellowknife to commemorate the opening of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, which was named after him. - NNSL file photo

Meant to replace the former Commissioner's Awards, the honour falls in line with the Order of Canada and its provincial counterparts, signaling a shift away from old traditions and further underscoring the fading role of the commissioner in the territory.

Former commissioner Anthony Whitford attempted to have the awards reinstated when he was appointed to the position in 2005 but was unsuccessful. It was around this time the legislative assembly began to consider an Order of the NWT instead. Nunavut and the Yukon also have similar honours.

Legislative assembly clerk Tim Mercer told News/North the award will honour residents "who have served with the greatest distinction and excelled in any field of endeavor for benefiting the people of the NWT or elsewhere."

What defines a "significant contribution" varies he said and can include involvement in sports, science, the arts, politics or community volunteerism.

"We leave it wide open," he said.

Currently the GNWT is seeking applications from those interested in serving on the award's advisory committee and review nominations. They will then make a recommendation to the commissioner. Once this is in place a public call for nominations will released - hopefully in a few weeks said Mercer.

The role of the commissioner in the territory has been diminishing since the late 70s and the emergence of the Order of NWT to replace the commissioner's award further highlights the ongoing process of devolution. However, the award still has not received official recognition from Ottawa.

"I think what's delaying a decision is this constitutional question of how the NWT relates to the Queen," explained Mercer.

"The territories are not recognized within the Canadian constitution ... but we've waited long enough, now we're going to proceed with our own order."

Similar awards in the Yukon and Nunavut are also not recognized within the national order system.

"The constitution recognizes the federal government and the 10 provincial governments," he said. "Provinces have constitutional powers and rights and authorities whereas territories ... have no sort of independent constitutional authority."

Although the name of the award has changed the premise remains relatively unchanged - the intent of the commissioner's awards was to honour bravery, volunteerism, special skills, community service youth achievement and other humanitarian efforts. The commissioner's awards have faded into obscurity but at one time they were the territory's highest honour and the commissioner himself maintained near-absolute authority.

In the 1950s the territorial commissioner chaired council and directed all government programs in collaboration with federal staff in Ottawa. When Stuart Hodgson was appointed commissioner by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson in 1967, he was tasked with moving territorial administration from Ottawa to Yellowknife. At the time the role of commissioner was similar to that of a modern-day premier.

At the time, the commissioner had the power to make decisions without consulting territorial council or government committees, said Alan Cash, deputy secretary to cabinet.

"The commissioners were God in the territory - they could walk into the community and write a cheque," Cash said.

A changing role

A series of changes commencing in 1975 would gradually devolve the commissioner's role in the territory, reducing it to the largely figurative position it is today.

As the NWTcontinued to grow and develop as an independent entity, Ottawa began to distance itself and grant the region more autonomy. Although members of territorial council were now elected and given their own speaker, the commissioner and deputy still attended all meetings to promote the federal agenda. As the years progressed more elected members were instated on the executive committee and in 1979 the committee leader was also being elected.

By 1984 all committees and boards the commissioner previously chaired had their own elected heads and the first "government leader" was instated - effectively making the commissioner's presence in the legislative assembly redundant.

Finally in January 1986 chairmanship of the executive board was officially turned over to then-government leader Nick Sibbeston, ending the commissioner's last vestige of power. When Dan Norris was appointed territorial commissioner after this, he was the first to serve in a ceremonial role similar to that of present-day provincial lieutenant governors.

Today the commissioner serves as the Queen's representative in the Northwest Territories, traveling and meeting with people across the North, opening and closing legislative sessions and providing assent to bills. They are also the first person to greet the royal family or Governor General during visits to the NWT.

"In 1985 we moved to a fully responsible elected government and from that point on the commissioner's role began to fade," Cash explained.

"It's still an important role, but it's the role much more equivalent to that of a lieutenant governor in a province as opposed to a king and despot in Africa."

The NWT's current commissioner is George Tuccaro.

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