Nunavut on the brink of new era in government

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"It's the end of a colonial era and it's the end of a very long process," said John Amagolik, chair of the Nunavut Interim Implementation Commission.

Amagolik is referring to the Feb. 15 elections that saw 19 new members of the legislature form the first official government of Nunavut, the new territory of the eastern Arctic.

The process that started in 1971 towards the Nunavut land claim has involved some very difficult negotiations, he said. For the people that live in the eastern half of the north, it's the end of a very long process.

Election day was a balmy and clear minus 30 degrees. That might account for 88 per cent of the population coming out to vote, said Amagolik. The population of the newly fashioned Nunavut is roughly 25,000 and more than 80 per cent are Inuit. Half of the residents there are registered voters.

The newly elected members of Nunavut's first legislative assembly are a mixture of young, old and many of the MLAs are able to speak Inuit, French and English. The multi-lingual MLAs will make greater strides in their relations to the rest of Canada, said the commission chairman.

The election was considered a great success considering the turnout and the results that followed, he said. The only blemish Amagolik could point to is that only one woman was elected. Manitok Thompson won the seat for the Rankin Inlet south riding. She is a veteran MLA from the previous Northwest Territories government. Out of the 71 candidates, 11 were women. Unfortunately, women still do not get a lot of consideration in politics, Amagolik said. Four out of the recently elected MLAs are non-Inuit who represent about 15 per cent of Nunavut's population, he said.

As the day nears for the Inuit to take over governing the eastern Arctic, Amagolik and government officials have been keeping an eye on the tense reaction to the Nisga'a land claim negotiations by the non-Aboriginal population in southern Canada.

"It's a very different situation, but the Inuit in Nunavut and the Nisga'a are striving for self government, except here the reaction from the non-Aboriginal people is supportive," said Amagolik.

Amagolik hopes the new territory is going to have a positive effect on Canada as a whole.

"We hope to provide inspiration and to make things a little easier for other Aboriginal people in this country," said Amagolik. The chairman stated there has always been a strong feeling towards a public government in Nunavut. The government of Nunavut will be a non-party system and members run as independents and will govern by consensus.

The premier and cabinet will be chosen by the members after the official swearing in of the MLAs on April 1.

Now the real work of organizing and developing the infrastructure of the non-party government has begun, said Amagolik. Meetings are already being planned to firm up details like budget allocations, civil service and portfolios for MLAs.

While all the governance issues are underway, so is the gala event to mark Nunavut's separation from the Northwest Territories. The day and evening of April 1 is solely dedicated to ceremonies and the formal signing between the three bodies: Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and the federal government.

The office of the implementation commission basically directed the construction of the Nunavut government. Amagolik's job is almost complete as the date of official takeover nears.

"For us it's the end of a long process, over 30 years, but it is extremely satisfying," said Amagolik.