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Northern Public Affairs Volume 1 Special Issue 2013 Building our future together DAVE RAMSAY Co-managing the future? HAYDEN KING The Northern economy: Lessons from industry DON BUBAR Economic development: Striking the right balance STEPHEN KAKFWI PATHWAYS TO The economy, governance, PROSPERITY & social suffering STEPHANIE IRLBACHER-FOX The Northern Dechinta Bush University Governance & Economy Student Plenary: A report COLE SMITH Conference & DARCY LEIGH Resource wealth: Northwest Territories Premier BOB MCLEOD Opportunities & challenges on devolution & economic prosperity DIANA GIBSON An interview with TOMMY PALLISER on Inukjuak’s Pathways to homelessness JULIA CHRISTENSEN innovative Unaaq Men’s Association FRANCES ABELE on challenges in understanding northernpublicaffairs.ca the new Northern economy “The decision to sign the Agreement in Principle is ours, and ours alone.” — Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief Eddie Erasmus, after announcing that the Tłı̨chǫ Government would be a signatory to the Devovultion Agreement in Principle, Feburary 28, 2013. Northern Public Affairs Special Issue 2013 FEATURES LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Pathways to prosperity 5 MESSAGE FROM THE CO-CHAIRS Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox, Willard Hagen, 7 & Stephen Kakfwi OVERHEARD Statement by NWT MLA Daryl Dolynny 9 NORTHERN VOICES Devolution & economic prosperity 10 Premier Bob McLeod Building our future together 16 Minister Dave Ramsay Beyond health care 20 Dr. Anna Reid Economic development 22 Stephen Kakfwi ARTICLES GOVERNANCE ECONOMY Co-managing the future? 27 Resource wealth: 43 Hayden King Opportunities & challenges Diana Gibson EDUCATION Dechinta Bush University Student Plenary 32 SOCIETY Cole Smith & Darcy Leigh The economy, governance, & social suffering 48 Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox ECONOMY The Northern economy: 35 THE ESSAY Lessons from industry Pathways to homelessness 51 Don Bubar Julia Christensen ECONOMY IN CONVERSATION Challenges in understanding 38 Raising-up hunters & protectors once again: 54 the Northern Economy The Unaaq Men’s Assocation Frances Abele Stephanie Irblacher-Fox & Tommy Palliser Northern Public Affairs Volume 1 Special Issue 2013 Guest Editors Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox Hayden King Founding Editors Joshua Gladstone Sheena Kennedy Jerald Sabin Advisory Board Frances Abele (Cantley, Québec) Joanne Barnaby (Hay River, Northwest Territories) Kenn Harper (Iqaluit, Nunavut) Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories) Mary Ellen Thomas (Iqaluit, Nunavut) Valoree Walker (Whitehorse, Yukon) Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory (Iqaluit, Nunav ut) Copy Editors Kyle Kirkup Layout Design Jerald Sabin Northern Public Affairs is made possible by the generous support of the Northern research community. Supporters Aurora Research Institute Nunavut Research Institute (Aurora College) (Nunavut Arctic College) Carleton Centre for Community Innovation Yukon Research Centre (Carleton University) (Yukon College) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Letters should be sent with the writer’s name, address, and daytime phone number via email to northernpublicaf- [email protected], or by mail to Northern Public Affairs P.O. Box 517, Stn. B, Ottawa, ON CANADA K1P 5P6. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium. All letters become property of Northern Public Affairs and will not be returned. VOLUME 1, SPECIAL ISSUE, March 11, 2013. NORTHERN PUBLIC AFFAIRS (ISSN pending) is published three times a year by Northern Public Affairs. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Visit www.northernpublicaffairs.ca/index. NORTHERN PUBLIC AFFAIRS IS A TRADEMARK OF NORTHERN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. COPYRIGHT ©2013 NORTHERN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN CANADA. FEATURES DELINE Photo credit: MorrisPhoto credit: Neyelle. Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, circa 1980. LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Pathways to prosperity Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox & Hayden King, Guest Editors Photo credit: MorrisPhoto credit: Neyelle. hat a conference! It was the type of gath- of the economy. However it was the personal — the ering where conversations at breaks were human — dimension, that caught our attention and aboutW polar bear hunting or the utility of Facebook that we’ve also included here. in advancing discussion about social policy. In fact, For all of the North’s dependence on a re- those were also some topics on the formal agenda of source extraction economy and the potential ben- the conference! So the conference was unique, to say efits it may bring, the lived experience in the NWT the least. Unique not only in content, but also struc- seems to be this: those benefits are not felt in a sus- ture — bringing together community members, po- tained, positive way in the small communities out- litical and business leaders, and academics — rare side of Yellowknife. We heard about the atrocious connections made in a format that in retrospect is housing conditions, people without the cash to feed absolutely critical to a “big picture” understanding their children, schools that are dilapidated and un- that the Pathways to Prosperity: Northern Gover- derstaffed, parents demoralized and desperate: for nance and Economy Conference attempted to de- jobs, for a house, for a break. The NWT’s resource velop. dependence has created a boom and bust economy. This special issue of Northern Public Affairs rep- And it is likely that people will suffer. Even in this resents our efforts to distill and crystallize the conver- period of boom and excitement surrounding large- sations emerging from this unique and educational scale resource extraction projects, there is the very conference. Broadly disseminating the conference real possibility that little will change with respect to results through NPA seemed an obvious partnership: the desperate circumstances we see in small commu- the magazine provides a much — needed forum for nities. Yet, there are alternative possibilities. analysis, discussion and debate on issues that occur Flowing from these personal stories was a cor- in, or affect, the North. The content of this spe- responding theme of resilience and community ac- cial issue focuses on elements of the “big picture” tion: community members talking about their situ- insights about many large-scale processes currently ation and what they are willing to do about it. We unfolding, such as the transformation of governance heard about the aforementioned Facebook pages institutions and the even more rapid transformation established to highlight housing (and related) chal- A scene from the Sahtu, Northwest Territories, 2012. Northern Public Affairs, Special Issue 2013 5 lenges. We heard about community efforts to create voters — to think about and maybe even act upon. telecommunications infrastructure. We heard about While the Issue makes ample room for articles about Dene, Gwich’in and Kasho Got’ine efforts to build managing the Northern economy, jurisdiction over economic and cultural independence, and about a resources, land claim settlements, and so on, it also land-based university focused on decolonizing ed- focuses on the often overlooked but critically import- ucation and reinforcing connections to the land. ant human dimension. The implication of this, as People are doing what they can. These are ordinary one of the articles in this issue notes, is that it might people faced with extraordinary hardships and ob- be time to re-evaulate what we consider “prosperity” stacles. Their responses are as creative as they are in the North.◉ inspiring. But they could use help. Political leaders and other officials might put Dr. Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox is a Research Associate with safeguards in place — tested, common sense, do- the Institute of Circumpolar Health Research in Yellowknife able safeguards. These might include a permanent and also holds appointments as an Assistant Professor at the stabilization fund; innovation funding programs that University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health have only one criteria - communities addressing their and the Department of Political Science. She is a Research needs in their own ways; revisiting royalty rates; and Associate with the Canadian Circumpolar Institute at the fixing our system of governance. All of the above, University of Alberta; and a Research Associate at the Ste- and more, were solutions identified at our Confer- fansson Arctic Institute, Iceland. ence and could go some ways to helping those alien- ated from the benefits of the current boom. Hayden King is Anishinaabe and Assisant Professor of We’ve included some of these novel ideas in Political Science at Ryerson University. this special issue of Northern Public Affairs. General- ly this Issue details problems, innovations, solutions, and many, many options for policy makers — and SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Three issues for $28 (plus GST/HST where applicable) ◎ Individual: $28 ◎ Institutional: $150 (check one) ___________________________________________ Name (please print) ___________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________ Community Territory/Province ___________________________________________ Country Postal Code (please include payment) First issue mails Spring 2013. Subscribe online at www.Northernpublicaffairs.ca. Mail to: Northern Public Affairs P.O. Box 517, Stn. B, Ottawa, ON CANADA K1P 5P6 NORTHERN GOVERNANCE & ECONOMY CONFERENCE Message from the Co-chairs Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox, Willard Hagen & Stephen Kakfwi Photo credit: NorthernPhoto credit: Economy and Governance Conference. he Northern Governance and Economy Con- speeches that touched on issues