In the 2007 Speech from the Throne, Canada announced its Northern Strategy, which outlined an overarching vision for the North and focused on four priority areas: exercising Canada's Northern sovereignty; protecting our environmental heritage; promoting economic and social development; and improving and devolving governance.
The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that Northerners have greater control over their resources and decision-making. The tabling of the Northwest Territories Devolution Act is a historic step on the road to devolution.
This bill combines two key elements of the Government of Canada's Northern Strategy: devolution of the management of lands and resources to the Northwest Territories (link to come) and improvements to the Northwest Territories regulatory regime as outlined in the Action Plan to Improve Northern Regulatory Regimes. The bill also includes elements that will modernize the Northwest Territories Act, such as making election terms and the role of the Commissioner more consistent with those in place in the Yukon and Nunavut.
The Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement
On June 25, 2013, the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement was signed by the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Parties to the Agreement. The Parties are working toward a transfer date of April 1, 2014.
Currently, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) makes decisions on behalf of its residents similar to a provincial government, with the exception of the administration and management of public lands, water resources, mineral resources, and oil and gas management. The NWT Devolution Agreement transfers these responsibilities from the Government of Canada to the GNWT. This will promote the self-sufficiency and prosperity of the NWT by providing its residents with a greater say in how land, water and resources are developed, and by giving the GNWT the power to collect and share in resource revenues generated in the territory.
This Agreement lays out how administration and control of lands, resources and rights in respect of water will be transferred from the Government of Canada to the Government of the Northwest Territories. The territorial government will become responsible for the management of onshore lands, the issuance of rights and interests with respect to onshore minerals and oil and gas, and will collect royalties. The Government of Canada will retain responsibility for the remediation of existing significant contaminated waste sites, the administration of the issuance of rights and interests to the offshore and the negotiation of land claims.
Negotiations
The negotiations leading to this agreement began with the signing of the Agreement-in-Principle (AiP) for NWT Devolution in January 2011. There are seven signatories to the AiP who were Parties to devolution negotiations: the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Northwest Territory Métis Nation, the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Tlicho Government.
On March 11, 2013, the Parties signed a Consensus Agreement on the terms for the devolution of lands and resource management from the Government of Canada to the Government of the Northwest Territories.
The Government of Canada concluded a second round of consultations with Aboriginal organizations and other stakeholders prior to finalizing the draft agreement. All comments and information received were carefully considered.
Financial Arrangements
The financial arrangements for NWT Devolution are set out in the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement. The Government of Canada will provide the GNWT with a one-time payment of $26.5 million, and participating Aboriginal groups will receive a total of $4 million, to assist in the set up and implementation costs required for the parties to be ready to assume their new responsibilities on the transfer date. Additionally, the Gross Expenditure Base of the Territorial Formula Financing (TFF) Grant will be increased by $67.3 million. Aboriginal organizations who are parties to the final devolution Agreement will receive on-going funding of up to a total of $4.6 million each year.
The territorial government will keep 50 percent of resource revenues up to 5 percent of its Gross Expenditure Base. The GNWT has committed to sharing a portion of these funds with Aboriginal groups.
The main federal funding to the three territorial governments is provided through the TFF transfer. This is an annual unconditional transfer from the Government of Canada to the territorial governments to enable them to provide their residents with a range of public programs and services comparable to those offered by provincial governments, at comparable levels of taxation. The formula takes into account the higher cost of providing programs and services in the North, and the TFF grant helps fund services such as hospitals, schools, roads and social services. In 2013-2014, the TFF transfer to the NWT will be $1.1 billion.
Improvements to the Northwest Territories Regulatory Regime
Bill C-15 also includes amendments to various statutes with the goal of improving the regulatory regime in the Northwest Territories. Regulatory improvement is a timely and necessary initiative that will help maximize the full benefits of devolution in the Northwest Territories.
The changes proposed to the three Acts related to regulatory improvement include the following:
Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act
The Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act implements obligations under the Gwich'in, Sahtu Dene and Métis, and Tlicho Land Claim Agreements through the creation of an integrated co-management regime for land and water regulation in the Mackenzie Valley.
As part of the Action Plan, proposed amendments to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act include:
- restructuring the land and water boards (consolidating four boards into one)
- setting time limits for completing environmental assessments and water licenses
- granting authority to establish regional environmental studies
- clarification of roles and responsibilities related to Aboriginal consultations
- instituting a cost-recovery regulatory authority for environmental impact studies
- increasing fines for permit and licensing offences
- introducing administrative monetary penalties
- consolidating federal decision making
Northwest Territories Waters Act
The Northwest Territories Waters Act establishes the Northwest Territories Water Board, which licences the use of water and deposits of waste and considers any detrimental effects of that use or deposit. The process may include public hearings into the application for use. The Act also sets out the rights and duties of licensees and provides for enforcement.
The proposed amendments include:
- changing the Board's structure
- establishing time limits for issuance of water licences and decision processes
- adopting "life of project" water licences
- instituting a cost-recovery regulatory authority for environmental impact studies
- increasing fines
- introducing administrative monetary penalties
Territorial Lands Act
The Territorial Lands Act deals with the protection, control and use of Crown land (surface and subsurface), including the issuance of permits and leases, mineral, quarry and coal rights, and setting terms and conditions of land use, enforcement and levying applicable fees. In the Mackenzie Valley, some of the functions are covered by the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.
The proposed amendments include:
- increasing fines
- introducing administrative monetary penalties
Taken together, northern control over northern resources through devolution and improved regulatory tools will ensure the Northwest Territories remains an attractive place to live, work and invest.
