Yellowknife - Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly - Day 6
Date of visit: June 26, 2007
Date of blog: August 4, 2007
If there is a perfect little place in Yellowknife it has to be the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly building.
Built in 1993, this modernistic, elegant building clad with a zinc exterior is located in a pristine natural setting within a short walk of downtown Yellowknife.
Black spruce trees are practically caressing its sides and water from Frame Lake is virtually lapping at its feet thereby creating a total harmony so symbolic of all the hopes and aspirations of the newly created Northwest Territories.
Making ample use of stainless steel and glass for its walls and the two domes, the building is bathed in an abundance of light with great views to the spectacular setting from which legislators can draw their inspiration and connection with the past.
A sense of calm and serenity pervades which is perhaps congruent with the consensus government which is the norm here.
The Government of the Northwest Territories
With a total population of only 40,000, the NWT does not have the status of a province. Instead, like the Yukon and Nunavut, it is designated as a Territory. As a basis of comparison, the smallest province, Prince Edward Island, has a population of approximately 136,000.
There are some significant differences in the structure and function of the government in the NWT as compared to a province.
First and foremost, the assembly has fewer jurisdictions than a provincial legislature.
Commissioner
While a province has a lieutenant-governor appointed by the provincial government as the Queen's representative to the province, the NWT has a commissioner appointed by the federal minister of Indian and Northern Development as a representative to the federal government, not to the Queen.
The commissioner's position which has been greatly diminished since 1980, from the all powerful to the present largely ceremonial role, has been held by Anthony J.W. Whitford since 2005. (http://www.commissioner.gov.nt.ca/)
The real power, while less than a provincial legislature, now lies with the legislative assembly.
Legislative Assembly - Consensus Government
(http://www.assembly.gov.nt.ca/)
Members are elected as independents from each of the 19 electoral districts of the NWT. They in turn elect a speaker (The Honourable Paul Delorey), a premier (The Honourable Joe Handley) and a cabinet of six additional ministers.
The unicameral assembly functions under a consensus system without party politics. The regular members form the opposition.
Tours of the legislative assembly are an essential part of a visit to Yellowknife.
Featured in the tour is the Legislative Assembly, a caucus room, works of art presented as gifts by the various provinces upon the official opening of the legislature, exhibits from local artists as well as a collection of A.Y. Jackson (Group of Seven) paintings.
A personal favourite was the exhibit of symbols of the NWT which included the territorial seal, the coat of arms, the flag, the mace, the gyrfalcon as the official bird, gold as the official mineral, the mountain avens as the official flower, the tartan as the official cloth, the tamarack as the official tree, the diamond as the official gem and the arctic grayling as the official fish.
History - Important Markers
In 1869 under the Rupert's Land Act, in the mother-of-all real estate deals, the Hudson Bay Company sold the North-West Territories, then made up of Rupert's Land and the North-West Territories, to Canada for $1.5 million dollars. Alaska may come to mind but that is dwarfed by this transaction because Rupert's Land alone included all the land draining into Hudson's Bay.
Very soon thereafter, eastern parts of the NWT evolved into components of Quebec and Ontario. Further changes occurred with the creation of Manitoba (1870), Alberta and Saskatchewan (1905) and the Yukon (1898).
Self government came to the NWT in 1980 with the assembly gaining significant control over the territory.
The reduced boundaries of the NWT were officially set in 1912 and remained until 1999 when Nunavut was carved out of the eastern three-fifths of the NWT as a separate territory under the Nunavut Act.
Nunavut is a land that stretches from the Manitoba and NWT borders to Greenland. It has a population of approximately 27,000 and like NWT has its own territorial assembly located in the town of Iqualuit.
Reasons for the split in the territory can be found in its sheer size and the ethnic split between the Dene, a First Nations people of the present NWT who are governed by the Federal Indian Act and the Inuit of Nunavut.
The aboriginal people of Canada are split into three groups, the First Nations people, the Inuit and the Métis.
In conclusion I can only say that there is so much to learn about the north and its aboriginal people and their struggle for survival in a rapidly changing society driven by a market economy.
In a highly unscientific and perhaps risky speculation based on their photos and curriculum vitae, I have concluded that of the 19 members of the assembly, 8 are of First Nations origin. Therefore, much progress has been made.
Yet To Come:
Yellowknife - the Prince of Wales Museum
Yellowknife - Golf Course and Airport
NWT - The Ice Roads
NWT - Concluding Comments
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