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2003 November Report of the Auditor General of Canada

November 2003 Report—Chapter 8

Case Study 8.1—Unresolved disagreements: Four case studies

The following four areas of disagreement illustrate differences that the processes established by the land claims agreements have been unable to resolve and are important for the economic future of the Inuit and Gwich'in. We acknowledge that we focussed only on four outstanding issues and that many issues have been resolved. However, whether the successes outweigh the disagreements in their impact on the overall performance of the claim is unknown.

Inuit of Nunavut

number 1 Increasing Inuit employment in government

Under the Nunavut land claim agreement, article 23 calls for increasing Inuit participation in government employment to a representative level in the Nunavut settlement area. Increasing Inuit participation in the delivery of public services is an important component of public policy in Nunavut and an important element in meeting one of the objectives of the claim—to encourage self-reliance and well-being of the Inuit.

However, at the time of the negotiations, the parties agreed that a representative level would mean a level of Inuit employment within government that reflected the ratio of Inuit to the total population in Nunavut; it would apply within all occupational groups and levels. However, they did not agree on a target date for reaching a representative level or milestones for assessing progress.

As a result, the nature and extent of federal involvement with the other parties to the agreement has been at issue for several years. The five-year independent review called for in the land claim agreement, which was to examine and analyze the obligations and recommend improvements to the implementation process, identified the lack of co-operation between the federal government and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated in making article 23 work. The issue of the federal role arose again in the renewal negotiations that were underway at the time of this audit. In 2001, the land claim participants created a working group to discuss the implementation of article 23, including the nature of the federal involvement. The working group was to report in a year. At the time of this audit, that report is still pending.

Currently, a committee of senior officials made up of the Deputy Minister from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the Chief Executive Officer of Nunavut Tunngavik, and the Deputy Minister of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs in Nunavut are also trying to resolve this issue.

number 2 Encouraging Inuit competition in the Nunavut marketplace

Whereas article 23 focusses on public sector employment, article 24 focusses on building a local economic capacity among the Inuit of Nunavut. The objective of article 24 is for the federal government to support and assist Inuit firms as they compete for government contracts. It does this through a procurement policy that focusses on increasing participation by Inuit firms in Nunavut business opportunities. The five-year review of the claim interpreted the objective to mean strengthening the Inuit's economic capabilities and removing systemic barriers to their participation in Nunavut.

Because the progression from activities to obligations to results in moving toward the objectives is not clearly spelled out, disagreement continues over the federal government's responsibilities to strengthen Inuit capability to participate in the marketplace.

Federal government contracting is one way to increase Inuit participation. However, there is no agreement on the mechanisms to be used to increase that participation. Neither is there any agreement on how employment-generating programs such as the Aboriginal Business Procurement Policy, which was created independently of the land claim agreement, will contribute to meeting the agreement's objectives.

Gwich'in of the NWT

number 3 Support for the traditional economy and encouragement of Gwich'in employment

In the Gwich'in claim, chapter 10 indicates that federal economic development programs should take into account the objective of maintaining and strengthening the traditional Gwich'in economy and encouraging Gwich'in economic self-sufficiency.

As with article 24 of the Nunavut land claim agreement, the focus of chapter 10 is the economic prosperity of the Gwich'in. However, how this chapter is to be implemented, including the role and form of federal government contracting, is in dispute.

Furthermore, the Gwich'in and the federal government disagree over the obligation to meet every three years to review the effectiveness of the employment creation measures. We were unable to find any three-year review of effectiveness. Now, ten years after the obligation was agreed to, a committee has been established to look into the disagreement, but it is still at the stage of resolving definitions.

number 4 Gwich'in Tribal Council funding

The fourth disagreement is over the existence and extent of federal financial support for the Council under the claim. The Gwich'in believe that the spirit and intent of the claim entitles them to receive core funding as the governing body for the land claim.

The federal government counters that while it has funded the Council, it has no obligation under the claim to do so. Furthermore it says that it is not willing to debate the adequacy of its funding to the Council, given its position that it has no funding obligation in the first place. We note that the federal government has proposed a substantially increased funding package for the next 10 years. The Council has accepted this increase in funding but all parties understand that its acceptance does not compromise its claim that the amount is inadequate.