Parliament will soon debate Nunavut Act changes

IQALUIT — Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart will soon introduce a bill in the House of Commons containing necessary amendments to the Nunavut Act.

The NWT’s justice minister, Goo Arlooktoo, told MLAs in the legislative assembly last week that the GNWT expects Stewart will introduce the bill “in a week or so.”

But Arlooktoo said he can’t reveal the contents of the bill until after it’s tabled in the Commons.

“As such, because of protocol, it is improper for me to get into the specific details, but what I can say is, the work on the bill has been done in a cooperative effort by a working group of officials from the government of the Northwest Territories, from NTI and from the federal government,” Arlooktoo told MLAs .

Various bureaucratic working groups have been burning the midnight oil in the wake of last January’s Nunavut leaders’ summit in Iqaluit.

Stewart’s bill would change the Nunavut Act to legally enable decisions reached by Nunavut leaders over the past several years.

The amendments are expected to provide for:

* a unified court system in Nunavut;

* an early election — likely in February, 1999 — for Nunavut’s legislative assembly;

* the “grandfathering” of the current NWT’s statutes;

* the guaranteed representation of Nunavut in the Senate and the House of Commons — which may mean the creation of a new Senate seat for Nunavut.

Arlooktoo suggested that the GNWT isn’t entirely pleased with all of the amendments that would be contained in Stewart’s bill.

“We did have some concerns, however, hence the reason why I went down to Ottawa, met with the minister and was assured they would look at our concerns and do one of two things,” Arlooktoo said.

“One, either they could make the changes before it is introduced; or two, that we would work together with the standing committee on legislation in putting together the required changes.”

Arlooktoo didn’t, however, say what those problems are.

On April 1, 1999, the Nunavut Act will replace the Northwest Territories Act as Nunavut’s de facto “constitution.”

Based on the 1992 Nunavut Accord agreement between Ottawa, Yellowknife and the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut, the Nunavut Act was one of two Nunavut laws proclaimed on July 9 1993.

The Northwest Territories Act will continue to apply to what’s left of the NWT after division.