Iqaluit -- November 25, 1996
Nunavut Implementation Commission (NIC) Chief Commissioner John Amagoalik
today expressed happiness with the progress made at a special meeting of
Nunavut Leaders held in Iqaluit over the weekend to discuss the design of
Nunavut's political institutions.
NIC Commissioners, MP Jack Anawak, five members of the Nunavut Caucus
(including NWT Deputy Premier Goo Arlooktoo), the Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
(NTI) executive (including President Jose Kusugak), the presidents of the
three regional Inuit associations, a representative of Pauktuutit (Inuit
Women's Association), a representative of Iqaluit's francophone community,
and elders and youth representatives participated in the meeting, which was
open to the public. Parts of the meeting were broadcast live on radio
across Nunavut.
The purpose of the meeting was to engage these Nunavut leaders in
substantive discussion of the key issues to be addressed by the
supplementary report on the design and implementation of Nunavut's
political system which the NIC will submit next month to the three parties
to the Nunavut Political Accord -- the Government of Canada, the Government
of the Northwest Territories, and NTI.
"We made substantial and tangible progress on each of the agenda items,"
Mr. Amagoalik said. "The NIC is confident that this meeting will go a long
way towards allowing the three parties to the Nunavut Political Accord to
achieve political consensus on the design and implementation of Nunavut's
Legislative Assembly and on related issues early in the new year. Thorough
discussions of these complex issues took place in a very collegial
atmosphere."
On the question of the preferred size of the Nunavut Legislative Assembly,
there was consensus that between 18 and 24 members would be the most
appropriate number. On the possibility of employing a system of two-member
constituencies, there was consensus that such a system might have a number
of advantages over the current single-member system.
The most contentious issue on the agenda was the NIC's proposal of
employing a system of two-member constituencies with gender parity to
ensure the equal participation of men and women in Nunavut's political
life. All participants agreed that an ideal political system for Nunavut
would be one where the systemic barriers to women's participation in
politics had been eliminated, where balance and mutual respect between the
sexes had been restored to the decision-making process, and where women
were full and equal participants in political life. There were, however,
differences of opinion whether the NIC's proposal was the best way to make
progress towards this goal.
At the end of the discussion of this agenda item Sunday morning a 'straw
poll' of the participants was taken, by secret ballot. Participants
understood that this poll was not binding on either the NIC or themselves,
and that the intention was simply to obtain a rough idea of the degree of
support (or lack thereof) for the proposal among the Nunavut leaders at the
table. 18 participants voted in support of the proposal, 3 participants
voted in opposition to the proposal, and 4 participants abstained. It
should be noted that 22 of the 25 participants in the meeting were men --
so it was an overwhelmingly male leadership which supported a concrete plan
to establish gender parity in the make-up of the first Nunavut Legislative
Assembly.
There was considerable support for the concept of direct public election of
the Premier, however there was also recognition that such a proposal
becomes increasingly problematic the more carefully it is examined -- and
that further research and consultation is required before any consensus can
be reached on this question.
There was also consensus that the first election to the Nunavut Legislative
Assembly should be held in January or February of 1999 -- i.e. before, not
after, the creation of Nunavut on April 1, 1999.
Participants were aware that an election early in 1999 -- and some of the
other proposals discussed at the meeting -- would require amendments to the
Nunavut Act by the federal parliament, ideally in 1997.
Mr. Amagoalik stated that the meeting has given the NIC renewed energy to
complete its supplementary report on the design and implementation of
Nunavut's political system in a few weeks time, thereby allowing the
parties to make decisions early in 1997. "The spirit of co-operation and
common purpose which the implementation of Nunavut will require was evident
throughout the meeting," Mr. Amagoalik concluded. "Together we made
substantial progress this weekend."
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To arrange interviews with Chief Commissioner John Amagoalik, please
contact Elisapi Davidee in the NIC's Iqaluit office at (819) 979-4199.