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NorthernJournalsstoryoftheyear7FEBRUARY5FEBRUARY19FEBRUARY12FEBRUARY262013THEYEARINREVIEWFarFurCountrylmreturnstoFortChipThelmmakersbehindTheReturnoftheFarFurCoun-trydocumentaryprojectcometoFortChipewyanforthesecondtimetonishlmingtheirdocumentaryandsharesomerareunseenfootageofthecommunityfrom1919.NorthernConservativeCaucusmeetsinYellowknifeAgroupofConservativeMPsandsenatorsdubbedtheNorthernConservativeCau-cusheadstoYellowknifetomeetwithNWTMLAstimingtheirvisitwithNDPleaderThomasMulcairsrsttriptotheterritory.HiphopartistbringsbullyingawarenessK.A.S.P.anawardwin-ninghiphopartisttraversestheNWTonamotivationalspeakingtourtitledSaveManyInLovingEveryoneSMILEfocusedontheperseveranceofFirstNationscultureandantibullying.TerritorieslaunchtourismcampaigninFrenchFrancophoneeconomicdevelopmentagenciesintheNWTYukonandNunavutlaunchamarketingcampaignaimedatbringingQuebectour-iststotheNorthontheirfuturevacations.ElectoralboundarychangesproposedintheNWTTheElectoralBoundaryCommissionproposesmajorchangestoelectoralboundar-iesintheNWTinitsinterimreportafterresultsshowed10outofthe19districtsareei-theroverorunderrepresented.PremierbooststerritoryatNWTDaysinOttawaPremierBobMcLeodtoutstheNWTasthefutureofCanadaatameetingwithdignitariesinOttawatodiscussdevolutionandtheeconomicfutureoftheterritory.ForSaleTheNorthByMEAGANWOHLBERGWevegottogetourre-sourcestomarket.Anymarketanyresource.ItsthemottooftodaysNorthwestTerritorieswhichasthebrightraysofdevolu-tionpeekoverthehorizoneagerlybeckonsanyandallinvestorsfromaroundtheglobetobringeconomicprosperitytotheNorth.Attheessenceoftheman-traisthepromisinggoldeneggofresourcerevenuestheNWTwillnallygettokeepforitselfafterthetransferofauthoritiesforlandswaterandresourcestakesplaceonApr.1ofthisyear.Asofrightnowthateggissmall-around42mil-lionwhenallissaidanddone.Notnearlyenoughtofeedtheseeminglyinsatia-bleinfrastructureappetiteoftheNWTorthemanysocialillsfacedbypoverty-strickencommunitiesacrosstheterritory.Withlittleinthewayofplanstodevelopsustainablelocaleconomies-requiringamuchlongertimelinethanprovidedbythenextthreemonths-theobjectiveistoincreasethesizeofthateggthroughanypossibleresourcedevelopment.Diamondsgoldmetalsoilgashydro-ifyouwantitsaysPremierBobMcLeodtheNWThasit.Withthedevolutiondealasresourcerevenuesgrowsocancapitalexpenditureandviceversa.Infrastructurewillbebuiltdebtsrepaidandevenasmidgensavedforfuturegenerationsunabletobenetfromtheone-timeresourceboom.ButatwhatcostItsaquestionoftime.Land-lovingresidentsdontwanttorushtheprocess.Theywantproperprotocolsdevelopedfornewindustrialtechnologieslikefrackingandoffshoreoildrillingtoensurethelandandwaterisnotirremediablydamagedbycomingdevelopment.Yetastheterritorys3-bil-lioninfrastructuredebtonlycontinuestomountthepres-suresofaddressingsomeofthoseneedshavebecomemoredesperatethetensionpalpablebehindcabinetseveryhandshakesmilekeynoteaddressandhalf-million-dollarNWTDayscelebrationinOttawa.Itmaybetruethatthereisnotimelikethepresent.Po-liticalandeconomicinterestintheNorthisatanall-timehighmakingmarketingnowanimperativelestthecklegazeofsoutherncorporationsturnelsewhere.Industrylobbyistsareatthesametimehammeringthegovernmentforfasteras-sessmentspullingouttheirharshcriticismoftheNWTscumbersomeregulatorysys-temwheneverconvenientnomatterhowdamagingtheself-fulllingprophecymaybeontheNWTsreputationandinvestmentclimate.TheCanadiangovernmentmeanwhileissettingitssightsontheNorthasthecountrysnewtreasuretroveforfor-eigninvestmentpromisingeconomicdevelopmentforNWTcommunities-aslongastheygoalongwiththegut-tingofregulations.TheGNWThassilentlyfollowedalonghappytobeconsideredfortheawardoftheirsmallgoldenegg.Thedevolutiondealisntperfectbutitssomethingsaypoli-ticiansanditstoolatetohopeformore.EvenfurthernowtheNWTspoliticiansarevocallyendorsingtheirassimilationasCanadasnextresourcecolonybuyingintotheindus-try-biasedwaveofregulatoryreformsweepingthenationandemulatingtheirdesiretomodeltheterritorysnewpublicreviewbodiesafterAlbertas-arguablythemostcontroversialinthecountrythefocusofFirstNations-ledlegalstrife.Allthewhilerhetoricfromtheterritorialgovern-mentneverfailstoincludetheconvictionthatnaturalresourcescanbedevelopedinbalancewithprotectionoftheenvironmentanop-timismoverlookinghowtheslipperyscalecontinuestoslideasthedenitionofenvironmentalprotectionispareddownrened.Thewaryhopesuchabeliefissincere.Themorecynicalresignthemselvestothelikelihoodthatthereisprobablynochoicebetweendevelopingresourcesorleav-ingtheminthegroundtheyweresoldalongtimeago.ThetimehascomewhenNorthernersarenowtrappedbetweentherockandthehardplaceforeshadowedbycenturies-oldpropheciesfromacrosstheland.Thatthoseresourceswillbeex-ploitedisobvious.TheonlyquestionthatremainstobeansweredisatwhatpaceThatquestionwillonlybedecidedbythewinneroftheadvancingtug-o-warbetweenindustryandthegrassroots.Withnewsofbitter-some-timesviolent-battlesemerg-ingfromacrossthecountryasprivateandpublicinter-estscollideonthefrontlinesitremainstobeseenifsuchresistanceisafarcry-oranimagefrom-theNWTsfuture.Astheterritorys3-billioninfrastructuredebtonlycontinuestomountthepres-suresofaddressingsomeofthoseneedshavebecomemoredesperatethetensionpalpablebehindcabinetseveryhandshakesmilekeynoteaddressandhalf-mil-lion-dollarNWTDayscelebrationinOttawa.NWTPremierBobMcLeodrightsealsthedealwithfederalAboriginalAffairsandNorthernDevelopmentMinisterBernardValcourtinOttawainDecemberduringtheintroductionoftheNWTdevolutionbillintheHouseofCommons.PhotoCNWGroupGovernmentofCanada2013THEYEARINREVIEW