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 – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
