T he Proposed Devolution Agreement

1. The Proposed Devolution Agreement

2. What is a “devolution”? de·vo·lu·tionˌde-və-ˈlü-shənalsoˌdē-və- : transference of rights, powers, property, or responsibility to another; especially: the surrender of powers to local authorities by a central government

3. Previous devolutions to the NWT • Health Care • Social Services • Education • Highways • Forestry • Airports

4. This devolution is the transfer of responsibility for managing… …from the Government of Canada to the Government of the Northwest Territories Public Lands Rights in Respect of Water Resources

5. Key Benefits

6. 1 Decisions Made in the NWT Devolution means decisions will be made by a more local, accountable and responsive government - giving residents more say in how • public lands and resources are used and protected • resource revenues are spent • related public programs are delivered

7. 2 Economic Benefits • Devolution will provide significant direct and indirect economic benefits for the NWT including • new resource revenues for public and Aboriginal governments • new jobs and business opportunities for all NWT residents • greater control over the economy

8. 3 Opportunities to Work Together Devolution will create new opportunities for public and Aboriginal governments to work together through • an Intergovernmental Council to coordinate land and resource management • an Onshore/Offshore Cooperation Agreement to coordinate transboundary jurisdictions • a Waste Sites Management Committee to provide recommendations on remediation

9. Aboriginal People and Devolution

10. Aboriginal and Treaty Rights • Aboriginal and treaty rights will continue to apply just as they do now • Public lands will still be available for the settlement of claims • Devolution will not affectownership of settlement lands

11. Highlights of the Agreement

12. Chapter 3: Transfer of Responsibilities • Ch. 3 explains how legislative authority will be transferred to the GNWT

13. Chapter 3 • At least 26 federal Acts and Regulations will be mirrored including the • Territorial Lands Act • NWT and Nunavut Mining Regulations • Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act • Canada Petroleum Resources Act • This will provide the GNWT significant new authority related to lands and resources

14. Chapter 3 • Environmental assessment in the Mackenzie Valley will continue as set out in existing land claims • The Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (MVRMA) will remain federal – but many decisions under the Act will become GNWT responsibilities • The MVRMA will be reviewed in 5 years • Existing interests will be grandfathered – ensuring continuity for current rights holders

15. Chapter 3 • The Government of Canada can take back land where it is in the national interest, including for • the creation • of National Parks • the settlement of • land claims • Existing protected areas will • also be continued

16. Chapter 4: Post-Devolution Resource Management • Ch. 4 refers to the cooperative agreement made among the GNWT and participating Aboriginal governments to • establish a new Intergovernmental Council • work cooperatively and collaboratively on land and resource management

17. Chapter 5: Onshore/Offshore Cooperation • Ch. 5 refers to the cooperative agreement made among the Government of Canada, GNWT, and Inuvialuit Regional Corporation to • coordinate and cooperate on oil and gas development • work together in the regulation and development of straddling resources

18. Chapter 6: Waste Sites Ch. 6 describes how responsibility for sites that need to be cleaned up by government will be addressed

19. Chapter 6 • Canada will remain responsible for the clean up of waste sites created on public lands before devolution • GNWT will be responsible for waste sites created on public lands after devolution • A Waste Sites Management Committee will be established for Northern governments to make recommendations to Canada on waste site clean up

20. Chapter 7: Human Resources Ch. 7 describes how some federal government employees who work on land and resource management will be offered GNWT jobs

21. Chapter 9: Financial Matters Ch. 9 describes the financial resources that Canada will provide to the GNWT and Aboriginal governments (Resource Revenues are described in Chapter 10)

22. Chapter 9 • The GNWT will receive • $67.3M each year for program delivery and other responsibilities • $26.5M in one time payments to support the work needed to prepare for devolution • (Note:Resource Revenues are described in Chapter 10)

23. Chapter 9 • Aboriginal governments will receive • Up to $3M (shared) annually • Up to $4M (shared) in one time payments to prepare for devolution • $200K (each) annually to participate in a Waste Sites Management Committee

24. Resource Revenues

25. Resource revenues now • Right now all of the resource revenues from NWT public lands go to directly Ottawa • Last year Ottawa collected $136M+ from the NWT

26. Chapter 10: Net Fiscal Benefit Ch. 10 describes how the GNWT will keep up to 50% of the resource revenues from NWT public lands* GNWT share by year: 2012/13 = $69M 2020/21 = up to $100M * Land Claim Royalties are paid first, before this division

27. Up to a maximum There is a maximum amount of resource revenue that the GNWT can keep each year Why? National fairness and consistency As the territory grows so does the amount the NWT can keep each year By 2020 it could be as high as $100M per year

28. How it will work

29. Resource Revenue Sharing The GNWT will share up to 25% of its resource revenue with participating Aboriginal governments Aboriginal government share by year 2012/13 = $17.25M 2020/21 = up to $25M

30. Existing land claim revenue The Tłįchǫ, Gwich’in, and Sahtu are already entitled to a share of resource revenue from Mackenzie Valley public lands from their land claims Devolution will provide them with additional revenues from all public lands throughout the NWT

31. Resource revenues after devolution

32. Why public revenues are shared • To strengthen the NWT by supporting Aboriginal governments • Aboriginal governments can use these resources to meet the priorities of their communities

33. Potential uses for resource revenue The Legislative Assembly will determine priorities for spending resource revenues based on northern needs

34. Next Steps

35. Where we are now Negotiations concluded in March of 2013 The proposed (draft) Agreement is now being shared with the public and Aboriginal governments Each government will make its own decision about whether to sign the final Agreement

36. Participating governments • Government of the Northwest Territories • Government of Canada • Inuvialuit Regional Corporation • Northwest Territory Métis Nation • Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated • Gwich’in Tribal Council • Tłįchǫ Government

37. Approval process For the GNWT the decision to sign will be voted on by all MLAs in the Legislative Assembly Other governments will have their own process for approval

38. Timing for Implementation Significant implementation work is required to make devolution happen, including • developing legislation • finalizing an organizational design • preparing job offers The target date to have this all done is April 1, 2014

39. Questions 