Nearly 25 years after becoming a territory, Nunavut has signed a final agreement with the Canadian government to have final say on a long list of decisions that were typically made in Ottawa.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier PJ Akiagok, and Nunavut Tunngavik President Alki Kotieluk signed the agreement at a ceremony in Iqaluit this afternoon.
Prime Minister Trudeau said this is the largest land transfer in Canadian history, 2 million square kilometers of land and water.
The 239-page document outlines how Canada will give the Nunavut government control over Nunavut’s lands and resources, a process known as devolution.
The agreement officially begins on April 1st, and the parties have until April 2027 to complete everything.
“The time has come. It’s a turning point for Nunavut,” said Paul Quassa, former Nunavut premier and land rights negotiator.
Shortly before the signing, Prime Minister Trudeau called it a “historic” day.
“A lot of effort has gone into making today possible,” he said. “Leaders, negotiators and officials from all walks of life have all worked for years toward the same goal: giving Nunavummiut greater control over decisions over its territory, waters and resources.”
Nunavut first became a territory in 1999 and has been slowly negotiating with the federal government to have final say over how much of its decisions. It’s also a process that both the Yukon Territory and the Northwest have experienced.
One of the final areas to be negotiated in Nunavut was land and water management, including resource development. The negotiation process began in 2008, and the territory signed an agreement in principle on devolution in 2019.
Kuassa was part of the land ownership negotiations that created Nunavut. He said signing the devolution deal was something he had envisioned for a long time.
“I think it’s like honey, it’s sweet,” Kuassa said. “This is something I’ve been looking forward to since the day we began negotiations with the Government of Nunavut.”
The decentralization agreement also finalizes the terms of the transfer of administrative control of Nunavut’s Crown lands and resources to the territorial government and outlines the conditions following the transfer.
As of the transfer date, Canadian government employees working in Nunavut whose job will be territorial-related will be offered a job with the territorial government.
Meanwhile, Nunavut’s Tunngavik Corporation will be responsible for post-decentralization human resources strategy to ensure Inuit are hired to fill roles within the Nunavut government.
The Government of Canada is currently making final decisions regarding mineral, oil and gas development on Nunavut’s public lands.
Decentralization would change this, giving Nunavut ultimate decision-making authority.
“We decide our future ourselves,” said Prime Minister PJ Akiagok. “Up until now, Ottawa had the final say on whether or not to proceed with a project.”
It would also give the government of Nunavut more authority to collect royalties from development projects.
Is Nunavut ready?
Joe Sabikatak, who served as Nunavummit’s premier from 2018 to 2021, said he doesn’t expect to see immediate changes in Nunavummit now that devolution has been signed.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Sabikatak said. “They won’t switch on and we’ll just take over the responsibility tomorrow. It’s going to be a long and drawn-out process.
“This is another step in Nunavut’s growth,” he added.
Sabikatark also noted that the government of Nunavut has struggled for years to fill vacancies in various sectors and has failed to meet its Inuit employment goals.
He said hiring more staff and adding new departments will be difficult, but it needs to happen.
“If you weren’t ready, you shouldn’t have negotiated,” he said.
Kwasa agreed.
“This is what we envisioned,” Kuassa said. “We are becoming a significant player within Canada.”
Akiagok said it’s time for Nunavummiut decisions to be made by Nunavummiut.
“Is that a challenge? Absolutely,” Akiagok said. “We have always had a vision for Nunavummiut to make decisions for its future.”
25 years of trading
As part of the transfer, Nunavut will receive an additional $85 million annually from the federal government. Canada will also provide one-time funding to the region of $67 million for transition activities and $15 million for training.
It also means that some laws would need to be changed or repealed to give the Nunavut government more power.
This includes repealing or replacing the Nunavut Act, a federal law that gives Nunavut control over rights to public lands and waters.
Public lands include land on land currently owned by the Government of Canada, including freshwater, mineral, oil and gas riverbeds and bodies of water, as well as buildings and structures.
The Nunavut Legislature’s powers will be expanded to include the management of Nunavut’s lands and resources, including legislation relating to the exploration and development of non-renewable resources.
This also means that the territorial minister will be the final arbiter of project proposals under the Nunavut Planning Act.
Sabikatak said he also promoted negotiations on offshore resources. The final agreement states that these negotiations will begin after signing.
“Some of the negotiations were tough,” he said.
Sabikatak, who represents Arviat in the Legislative Assembly, also called on the government to transfer some of the jobs created by decentralization to other Nunavut communities.
“Not all jobs should be sent to Iqaluit. Jobs should be found in the community,” he says.
The NWT’s devolution agreement came into force in 2014, and the Yukon Territory agreement came into effect in 2003.
