Second Intergovernmental Council Meeting held in Yellowknife
Publication Date
News Release
September 3, 2015 (YELLOWKNIFE) – Leaders from the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) and Aboriginal governments, who are partners in devolution, met in Yellowknife today to discuss a range of issues related to lands and resource management at the second Intergovernmental Council meeting.
As a key feature of the Devolution Agreement, the creation of an Intergovernmental Council allows governments to cooperate and collaborate on matters related to lands and resource management. The meetings help strengthen the territorial government’s relationships with its Aboriginal partners, a main priority of the 17th assembly.
Leaders from the GNWT, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Northwest Territory Métis Nation, Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, Gwich’in Tribal Council, Tłı̨chǫ Government, Acho Dene Koe First Nation, Salt River First Nation, Denínu Kų́ę́ First Nation and the Kátł’odeeche First Nation were involved in the meeting and discussed a range of lands, water and resources issues including resource revenue sharing, capacity building, the state of the resource economy and an update on conservation work in the NWT.
At the Intergovernmental Council’s inaugural meeting in September 2014 direction was given to set up a Finance Working Group to finalize the allocation calculation under the Resource Revenue Sharing Agreement. With this work now complete, Aboriginal governments received their first share of resource revenues on July 31, 2015. Approximately $6.3 million has been distributed to Aboriginal governments in one of the most robust resource revenue sharing frameworks involving public lands in the country.
The Intergovernmental Council has identified a number of priorities for the upcoming year, including a focus on capacity building and collaborative work around the Land Use Sustainability Framework.
For more information, contact:
Roya Grinsted Media Relations Government of the Northwest Territories 867-669-2308
Bob Simpson Director, Intergovernmental Relations Inuvialuit Regional Corporation 867-777-7040
Ursula Vogt Executive Director Northwest Territory Métis Nation 867-872-2770