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3TuesdayDecember102013WINTERTIRESSAVELIVESSHORTERSTOPPINGDISTANCESBETTERTRACTIONTIRENORTHLTD.917MacKenzieHwySS22HayRiverNTX0E0R8Callusat867874-2686Weareyourwintertiresolution.WHENTHERUBBERHITSTHEROADByMEAGANWOHLBERGThefederalactthatwillmakedevolutionarealityfortheNorthwestTerritorieswasintroducedinOttawalastweekalongwithanumberoffederalregulatoryimprove-mentinitiativesincludingthecreationoftheproposedsu-perboardcurrentlyopposedbyFirstNationsignatoriestothedevolutiondeal.BillC-15ortheNorthwestTerritoriesDevolutionActre-ceivedsecondreadingintheHouseofCommonsonTues-day.TheactwouldputinplacetheNWTlandsandresourcesdevolutionagreementandmakeamendmentstoseveralpiecesoflegislationincludingtheTer-ritorialLandsActtheNWTWaterActandtheMackenzieValleyResourceManagementActMVRMAamongothers.NWTPremierBobMcLeodsaidhewelcomesboththemovetowardsnaldevolu-tionaswellastheattachedregulatorychangesbothofwhichhesaidareprioritiesofthe17thLegislativeAssembly.Wefeelthatdevolutionwilltransformtheeconomythatwewillseeincreasedjobsandop-portunitiesNorthernerswillbemakingthedecisionsontheprojectsandlandthatimpactsNortherners.DecisionswillbemadeintheNorthratherthanOttawaandIthinkthatwillbebenecialfortheNorthwestTerritoriesandtherestofCan-adaMcLeodtoldTheJournalfromOttawalastweek.WhileseveralFirstNa-tions-includingsignatoriestothedevolutionagreement-andmembersofthe16thAssemblyexpressedconcernoverproposedchangestotheMVRMAwhichincludedoingawaywiththeregionallandandwaterboardstructureinfavourofonesuperboardMcLeodsaidthoseconcernsarenotsharedbythecurrentgovernment.Thatwasthepreviousgov-ernmentwhosentaletterin-dicatingthattheywouldagreetodisagreeMcLeodsaid.The17thAssemblyhasal-waystakenthepositionthatwewantedtoseeanefcienteffectiveregulatoryprocessandthatweweregoingtoworkwithallpartiesallgov-ernmentstomakeithappenandthatweweregoingtoworkveryhardtoimproveourrela-tionshipswithAboriginalgov-ernments.WefeelwevebeenabletodothatwehaveveAboriginalgovernmentsthathavesignedontodevolution.Aboriginalgovernmentscaughtincatch-22BoththeTlichoGovern-mentandGwichinTribalCouncilGTCwhosignedontodevolutionbuthavesig-nalledtheiroppositiontothecreationofthesuperboardareupsetdevolutionisbeinglinkedtothepassingofchangestotheMVRMAinOttawa.WerenottoohappyaboutitGTCpresidentRobertAlexietoldTheJournal.Theyveputusinatoughpo-sition.WesupportdevolutionwevegotnoproblemwiththatbutthentheyreputtingtheamendmentstotheMVRMAinthesamelegislationsoitsacatch-22.AlexiesaidtheGTCunder-standstheoptiontochangetheboardstructureisincludedintheGwichinagreementbutwouldliketoseesomeallow-ancesmadeinthecreationofthesuperboardtoaccom-modatetheregionalsettledclaimareas.TheGTCwouldliketoseearegionalofceremainintheGwichinsettlementareaandtobeguaranteedarepresenta-tiveonthenewsuperboard.AswelltheGTCwantstoseethesuperboardabletoappointitsownchairratherthanhavethatdonebythefederalminister.Wealsowanttheassur-ancethatournomineetothesuperboardwillbeputonanypanelthatwillbedelegatedtooverseeanylandusepermitorwaterlicenseintheGwichinsettlementarea.NobigdealAlexieadded.WhiletheGNWTwillsoongainauthorityoveramultitudeofactstheMVRMAwillre-mainfederallegislationforthetimebeingandwillbeexer-cisedbyaterritorialministerthroughdelegatedauthorityincludingtheauthoritytoap-proveTypeAwaterlicenses-thenalapprovalformostminingoilandgasprojects.Thatdelegatedauthorityisseentobeaninterimstep.McLeodsaidtheterritorialgovernmentanditspartnerAboriginalgovernmentswillbeabletoreviewchangestotheMVRMAinveyearswhenheexpectsauthor-ityovertheacttobenallytransferredtotheGNWT.DeneNationalChiefBillErasmusisrequestingallNorthernFirstNationshaveasayinthematter.Becauseofthemagnitudeandimplicationsinregardstotheissuesathandandthesig-nicancetotheconstitutionalfabricofCanadawerespect-fullyrequestthatthecommitteecometotheNorthwestTerrito-riestohearfromtheDeneandotherresidentsoftheNorthErasmuswroteinalettertoChrisWarkentinchairofthefederalstandingcommitteeonAboriginalAffairsandNorth-ernDevelopmentlastweek.RegulatorychangesneededfordevolutionAANDCAccordingtoAboriginalAffairsandNorthernDevel-opmentCanadaAANDClumpingdevolutiontogetherwithproposedregulatorychangeswasnecessaryforsuccessfulimplementationofthetransferagreement.SincethetruebenetsofdevolutioncanonlyberealizedthrougharobustandimprovedregulatorysystemtheproposedlegislationaimstostrengthenandstreamlinetheregulatoryregimeintheNorthwestTer-ritoriesstatesabackgrounderfromthedepartment.McLeodwasinOttawatowatchthedevolutionbillsintro-ductionandlevysupportfromtheLiberalsandNDPinfavouroftheacttabledbyAboriginalAffairsandNorthernDevelop-mentMinisterAANDCBer-nardValcourt.Hecalleditanhistoricoccasion.Toseetheculminationofprobably45-someyearsofworkandtoseetheleg-islationtomakedevolutionhappenwasverysatisfy-inghesaid.WhileinthecapitalMcLeodmetwithPrimeMinisterStephenHarperValcourtleaderoftheNDPoppositionThomasMulcairLiberalleaderJustinTrudeauNorthernsenatorsandchairsofvariousParliamentaryandSenatecommitteesandhostedanopenhouseattheGNWTsOttawaofcetomeetwithvariousassocia-tionsincludingnationalAboriginalorganizationstoexplaindevolution.TheGNWTiscurrentlyinthemidstofmirroringfed-erallegislationinpreparationforthedevolutiontransferonApr.12014.TheGNWTneedstomirror27federalactsandregulationsgovern-inglandwaterandresourcemanagement.Threedevolution-relatedbills-theArchaeologicalSitesActNWTSurfaceRightsBoardActandReindeerAct-havealreadyreceivedsecondreadinginlegislatureandtheremaining24willbeintro-ducedfordebateandconsid-erationbytheassemblyinthe2014wintersessionscheduledtobegininFebruary.McLeodannouncedlastweekthat120federalem-ployeeshaveacceptedjoboffersfromtheGNWTandwillbemakingthetransfertotheterritorialgovernmentpost-devolution.Thiswasanoverwhelm-inglypositiveresponseandIwelcomethesededicatedfederalstafftotheGNWTthepremiersaid.DevolutionbilltabledwithattachedregulatorychangesPremierwelcomesintroductionofmuchneededbillinOttawaPoliticsDevolutionPhotoCNWGroupGovernmentofCanadaAboriginalAffairsandNorthernDevelopmentministerBernardValcourtandNWTPremierBobMcLeodshakehandsduringthepremiersvisittoOttawalastweektowatchthetablingofthedevolutionbill.