Premier should continue decentralization

This is the first time for me to praise what the Premier, cabinet and the legislative assembly are doing about the decentralization program within the government of Nunavut’s operations.

We had always stipulated that our government would be decentralized from day one, not only to spread out the jobs but to move the workings of the government closer to the people that it serves, as spelled out in the various working documents dating back to late 1980s and mid-1990s.

Even though the bureaucracy will always cry that they do not want to move to smaller communities, we have to give the people in the smaller communities a chance to help run some of the programs and departments of the government of Nunavut.

What they are saying is a “report” says this cannot happen. Well, who wrote the report? I’m sure whoever did had to go through the upper echelons of the departmental officials, who didn’t want to move to Igloolik or Kugluktuk before the final report got to the legislative level.

I say to the Premier and the ministers of the government of Nunavut, hang in there, eventually most of the GN jobs will go to the smaller communities as anticipated, as your bureaucrats begin to understand who is in control of the process.

Allen Maghagak
okonak@npc.nunavut.ca