Look Up, Way Up: Action Canada at the Legislative Assembly in Yellowknife

Frame Lake, right next to where we are staying

This week I attended a session at the Legislative Assembly organized by Action Canada. There were three research teams of participants from across Canada. Each team had one topic which they focused on: the economy, governance, and health delivery in rural areas. The teams were in Yellowknife for one week, and they presented their findings during a Public Dialogue session, and there were also questions from the audience.

Almost all of the presenters were from the major cities across Canada (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax) and I found it funny when they said it was odd for them to be considered "Southerners" while in Yellowknife. I know the feeling...!


On the trail around Frame Lake

I found the talks pretty interesting. A lot of the findings I knew about already: there are a lot of natural resources in the NWT (minerals, renewable energies), and challenges include lack of infrastructure and environmental changes related to melting ice in the arctic. Some things surprised me, though.

The NWT's gold industry started to decline in the 1990s, but then diamonds were discovered and a second boom began. It"s estimated that this boom will only last until the 2030s or so, and a lot of people are arguing that gold and diamond revenue should be re-invested in developing the sustainable economy, focusing on things like wind and hydro-electric power. But it's very political.

A buzz-word through-out the session was devolution. This is like decentralization, where power is transferred from the federal government to the territory, or even individual municipality or region. As I understand it, the Northwest Territories (like Yukon and Nunavut) have less power and authority (and financial resources at it's disposal) than the provinces. Interesting dynamics! So there are calls for devolution, or more power given to the territories to determine their own destinies.

One of the presenters gave a good example. It's like receiving an allowance, or spending money you earned yourself. The way you'll spend the money depends on how you got it. Same thing here.

The presenters talked about 2 economic models they found in the NWT: harvest/subsistence versus resource extraction. The resource extraction (gold/mineral mines, oil, etc) is a short term way of generating wealth, but isn't sustainable. The problem is, that's where the majority of revenue is coming from in the NWT.

On the other hand, the harvest/subsistence model is small but growing. This includes people like farmers and entrepreneurs. Surprisingly, there is a strong entrepreneurial spirit growing in young aboriginal groups across the territories, which is a great way to lead towards long term economic sustainability. Not to mention environmental stewardship and protection.

I found this interesting, because this is what my job does. Supporting entrepreneurs and attracting more to the NWT is one way to build a sustainable economy.