Nault: Nunavut not ready for devolution

DENISE RIDEOUT

Nunavut isn’t yet ready to take over the responsibility of managing its land resources, such as oil, gas and minerals, from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, DIAND minister Bob Nault said this week.

Nault said the transfer of power from DIAND to the Nunavut government will happen, but not soon.

The transfer of responsibility would give Nunavut more control over its oil, gas and mineral reserves, and Nunavut, not the federal government, would get royalties from mining.

Transferring power to the territories has been one of the federal government’s policies since the 1970s. The process, known as devolution, has seen the Northwest Territories take over responsibility for such programs as health care, social services and education.

Devolution is nearly completed in the Yukon and is under way in the Northwest Territories. But it isn’t in the cards for Nunavut quite yet.

In a press conference in Iqaluit on Nov. 15, the federal minister responded to questions from reporters about when it will take place.

“We’re very supportive of devolution,” Nault said.

“But I think we’re also aware that this is a very brand new territory with a lot of work to do to get up to capacity. We’re still working on getting up to a full complement of staff. So it will be some time, I think, before devolution takes place here in Nunavut.”

Nault pointed to the success in the Yukon and the ongoing negotiations with the NWT as proof devolution can happen.

In 2001, the Yukon government signed a transfer agreement that gives it control over water, land, environment management and allows it to collect taxes from natural resources.

This past September, DIAND appointed David Peterson, a former premier of Ontario, to be its chief negotiator in devolution talks with the Northwest Territories. The negotiations are ongoing.

“And we’ll eventually get to Nunavut, as long as our government is in power because that’s our responsibility,” Nault said.

When it comes to Nunavut, though, Nault isn’t convinced the territory is prepared for devolution yet.

“We want to make sure Nunavut and the people in the territory are ready for that, because that’s a significant amount of responsibility and we quite frankly think that at this point it’s not a bad thing to be working in cooperation with the federal government.”