For Immediate Release
NTI President Signs Devolution Agreement in Principle
(August 15, 2019 – Iqaluit, Nunavut) Aluki Kotierk, the President of NTI today signed a Nunavut Devolution Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) with Minister Carolyn Bennett and Premier Joe Savikataaq.
NTI has long supported the transfer of Crown lands and resources from the federal government to the Government of Nunavut. A similar transfer has already taken place in Yukon and Northwest Territories, and Nunavut is now the only jurisdiction in Canada where Crown lands, oil, gas, and mineral resources are still managed by the federal government.
“It is important that decision-making about our local resources be placed in the hands of the people who live here – not in distant towers in Ottawa,” said President Kotierk.
The AIP is not a legally binding document, but contains the main elements to be included in a final agreement. The intent is to complete a Devolution Final Agreement in two years, to be followed by drafting of the legislation needed to bring devolution into effect, which would be in five years from now.
An important part of the AIP are the sections dealing with training and human resources development, aimed at maximizing Inuit employment in devolution-related positions. “We have worked hard over the years to get government to act effectively, in order to meet its obligations under Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement,’ said President Kotierk. “The AIP highlights this as a major area where we are to work together for this purpose. It will give us a chance to show how it can be done.”
President Kotierk expressed the hope that the three parties could work together in a similar way to resolve other major issues facing Inuit, Nunavut, and the North.
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For further information:
Malaya Mikijuk
Assistant Director of Communications
Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated
Tel: 867-975-4907
www.tunngavik.com
