The right move at the right time

Only 22 days after having taken their oaths of office, Nunavut’s new MLAs and cabinet ministers have shown that they are not afraid to make resolute decisions when the need for such decisions is obvious.

Their decision to eliminate Nunavut’s regional education and health boards was the right move at the right time.

Ever since 1995, when the Nunavut Implementation Commission recommended the elimination of Nunavut’s regional boards, a lingering cloud of uncertainty has overshadowed their future. For nearly four years, board employees, decision-makers at all levels, and the public have not known who will end up in charge of health, education, and social services in Nunavut.

Having had the matter referred to them by the three parties to the Nunavut accord, the Nunavut government brought a swift end to this uncertainty.

That, however, does not mean that we know everything we need to know about how these departments will operate in the future. The work that they carry out directly affects the life of every single resident of Nunavut. Added together, the budgets of these two departments account for about half of all territorial government spending.

In executing the decision that they made last week, the Nunavut cabinet will create new issues, and new decisions that they and others must make in the near future to resolve those issues.

For example, the Education Act that Nunavut has inherited from the GNWT allows elected community education bodies — or district education authorities — to seek powers and responsibilities that in the past were held only by divisional boards.

Some local bodies, such as the Iqaluit District Education Authority, have already made it known that they are willing to take on such responsibilities. Others may not be so ready. In all cases, there are serious questions about whether such local bodies have the capacity right now to play a greater role in running schools in their communities, and how much it may cost to develop that capacity.

It’s obvious then, that the Department of Education needs to develop a new policy to guide its relationships with community education bodies, and, perhaps, a new process for carrying out that policy.

In the areas over which the Department of Health and Social Services is responsible, it’s not clear what the government means when it talks about “preserving and enhancing” the role of community health and social service committees.

Does this mean that the government will use such committees to seek advice and information? Or does it mean that the government will allow them to run some programs in the communities?

A year from now, when they will have wrested control over education, health, and social services from the regional boards, Nunavut’s fledgling government will be able to directly assert its authority over the two areas of government that affect more people more deeply than any others. In doing this they will save millions of dollars a year, and gain the ability to make rational decisions that will ensure that all Nunavut residents get the same services no matter where they live.

But once having acquired that power, the Nunavut government may be reluctant to give it back to the communities. That, however, is an issue for the future. JB