https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/
Devolution — transferring responsibilities for land and resources — is unique to each Canadian territory
A final devolution agreement, transferring responsibilities for Crown land and natural resources from the federal government to the Nunavut government, is being signed in Iqaluit Thursday afternoon. The details of the milestone agreement aren’t being made public until the document is signed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
But there are some things we already know. The federal government has gradually transferred responsibility for things like health, education, social services, housing and airports to the three territories since the 1960s. Devolving the responsibility for land and resources in Nunavut, currently held by the federal Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, is the next step.
It’s a process that’s already happened in the N.W.T. and Yukon. Ken Coates, a professor of Indigenous Governance at Yukon University, said devolution is the “biggest single transition for an emerging government.” Nunavut became its own territory in 1999.
“[The territory decides] what land is for development, for mining, for forestry. You make sure you allocate land for residential purposes, commercial purposes, allocation to municipalities and communities,” Coates said.
For the rest of this article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nunavut-yukon-nwt-devolution-explained-1.7086233