After nearly 25 years as a territory, Nunavut is expected to sign a decentralization agreement with the federal government on Thursday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to arrive in Iqaluit on Thursday to sign the agreement along with representatives of the territorial government and Nunavut Tunngavik Corporation.
The signing of the agreement effectively transfers responsibility for Crown lands and waters from the federal government to the territory governments.
Details of the contract have not yet been made public, but will be made public once the deal is signed.
The prime minister is expected to arrive in Iqaluit on Thursday afternoon and sign the agreement shortly thereafter.
Nunavut’s devolution has been a long process. In the 1960s, Canada began transferring decision-making authority to the territories in government areas such as health care and airports.
In 2019, the governments of Canada and Nunavut, and Nunavut’s Tangavik Corporation signed an agreement in principle that set a deadline of three years to resolve outstanding issues and five years to reach a final agreement.
At the time, land and water management, including resource development, was one of the final areas of negotiation.
Transferring responsibility for land and water would also make Nunavut responsible for Crown lands within the territory. The land is currently managed by Canadian government officials. At the time of the agreement in principle, these employees were expected to be given the option of staying with the Nunavut government or transferring to other federal jobs.
Five stages of delegation
by Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairsthere are five phases to the delegation process.
In 2008, the three parties signed the Devolution Negotiation Protocol Agreement, which outlined how the process would work.
Nunavut passed the next hurdle in 2019 with an agreement in principle outlining key issues.
A final power transfer agreement has been negotiated and is expected to be signed by all parties on Thursday
Each group then put together laws and mechanisms to implement the agreement.
Finally, they will be implemented through “a series of legislative amendments approved through Parliament and reflected in the Nunavut Legislature.”
