Nearly 25 years after Nunavut became a territory, it has signed a final agreement with the government of Canada to have the final say over a long list of decisions that were, until now, usually made in Ottawa.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier P.J. Akeeagok and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk signed the agreement at a ceremony in Iqaluit this afternoon.
It’s the largest land transfer in Canada’s history, Trudeau said — two million square kilometres of land and water.
Throat singers share a laugh after singing during the opening of Thursday’s devolution ceremony. (CBC)
The 239-page document outlines how Canada will give control over Nunavut’s land and resources to the government of Nunavut — a process known as devolution.
The agreement officially begins April 1, and the parties will have until April 2027 to get it all done.
“It’s high time. It’s a turning point for Nunavummiut,” said Paul Quassa, a former Nunavut premier and land claims negotiator.
Speaking just before the signing, Trudeau called it a “historic” day.
“A lot of work has gone into making today possible,” he said. “Leaders, negotiators, officials of many stripes have all worked hard for many years for the same goal: for Nunavummiut to have increased control for decisions on their land, waters and resources.”
Nunavut first become a territory in 1999, and has slowly been negotiating with the federal government to have the final say over how many decisions are made. That’s a process that both the Yukon and N.W.T. have undergone, as well.
One final area to be negotiated for Nunavut was land and water management, which covers resource development. That negotiation process began in 2008 and the territory signed an agreement-in-principle on devolution in 2019.
Quassa was part of the land claim negotiations that created Nunavut. The signing of devolution, he said, is something he’s imagined for a long time.
“It’s like honey, I guess — it’s sweet,” Quassa said. “This is something I’ve looked forward to since the day we started negotiating with the Nunavut government.”
Paul Quassa says Nunavut’s signing of devolution is ‘high time.’ (Kieran Oudshoorn/CBC)
The devolution agreement also finalizes the terms for transferring administrative control of Nunavut’s Crown lands and resources to the territorial government, and outlines the conditions of the post-transfer period.
As of the transfer date, government of Canada employees whose jobs become territorial responsibilities, and who work in Nunavut, will be offered jobs with the territorial government.
For its part, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. will be in charge of a post-devolution human resources strategy, to ensure Inuit are hired to fill roles within the Nunavut government.
Right now, the government of Canada makes all the final decisions for the development of minerals, oil and gas on Nunavut’s public land.
Devolution will change this, giving Nunavut the final decision-making authority.
“We’ll decide our own future,” Premier P.J. Akeeagok said. “Before this, it was Ottawa who had the final decision over whether a project would advance.”
Premier of Nunavut P.J. Akeeagok meets with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, not shown, in his office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang (Justin Tang/CP)
It will also give the Nunavut government greater authority to collect royalties from development projects.
Is Nunavut ready?
Joe Savikataaq, Nunavut’s premier from 2018 to 2021, said Nunavummiut likely won’t see any immediate change now that devolution has been signed.
“It won’t happen overnight,” Savikataaq said. “They don’t flick a switch and we just take over responsibilities tomorrow. It will be a long, drawn out process.
“It’s another step in Nunavut growing up,” he added.
Joe Savikataaq is a former Nunavut premier and current MLA for Arviat. (Ashley Burke/CBC)
Savikataaq also pointed to the Nunavut government’s longstanding struggle to fill vacancies in its various departments and its failure to meet its Inuit employment goals.
He said taking on more staff, and adding new departments, will be difficult but that it needs to happen.
“If we weren’t ready, then we shouldn’t have been negotiating,” he said.
Quassa agreed.
“This is something that we had envisioned,” Quassa said. “We are becoming an important player within Canada.”
Akeeagok said it’s about time decisions for Nunavummiut are made by Nunavummiut.
“Will it be challenging? Absolutely,” Akeeagok said. “We’ve always had a vision of Nunavummiut making decisions for their future.”
President of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Aluki Kotierk shakes hands with Canada’s then-Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett and Nunavut’s then-Premier Joe Savikataaq after they signed the devolution agreement-in-principle in 2019. (Sara Frizzell/CBC)
A deal 25 years in the making
As part of the transfer, Nunavut will receive an additional $85 million a year from the federal government. Canada will also provide one-time funding to the territory: $67 million for transitional activities, and $15 million for training.
It also means several pieces of legislation will need to be altered or repealed to give power to the Nunavut government.
That includes repealing or replacing the Nunavut Act, a federal law, to give the territory control over public lands and rights to waters.
Public lands include any onshore lands that currently belong to the government of Canada, and includes beds and bodies of freshwater, minerals, oil, gas and buildings and structures
The Nunavut legislature’s power will also be expanded to include the management of lands and resources in Nunavut, including laws about the exploration and exploitation of non-renewable resources.
It also means a territorial minister will be the final decision-maker on project proposals under the Nunavut Planning Act
Savikataaq said he also pushed for negotiating on offshore resources at the same time. The final agreement states that those negotiations will begin post-signing.
“Some of those negotiations were tough,” he said.
Savikataaq, who represents Arviat in the Legislative Assembly, also urged the government to transfer some of the jobs created through devolution to other Nunavut communities.
“Not all the jobs should be going to Iqaluit. We should be seeing jobs in communities,” he said.
N.W.T.’s devolution agreement took effect in 2014. Yukon’s took effect in 2003.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
