On January 18, 2024, after more than 20 years of negotiation, the Government of Canada, the Government of Nunavut and the Inuit of Nunavut (represented by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI)) signed the Nunavut Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement. The Agreement was effective when signed and will result in the transfer of administration and control of Crown Land in Nunavut on April 1, 2027. For Stephen Mansell, Chief Negotiator for the Government of Nunavut, this was the culmination of years of painstaking work. For the territory’s roughly 40,000 residents, 85% of whom are Inuit, it marks a historic shift in control over land, water, and resources.
What Is Devolution?
Devolution transfers the administration and control of public lands, water rights, and resources from the federal government to the Government of Nunavut. Unlike provinces, which derive powers from the Constitution, territories rely on federal transfer of authority through legislation. This process of devolution, referred to in Inuktitut as Namminiqsurniq (roughly meaning “towards achieving greater autonomy”, is tripartite in nature involving Canada, the Government of Nunavut, and NTI, the successor organization to the Inuit signatories of the 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA or the Nunavut Agreement). As Adam Chamberlain, outside legal counsel to the Devolution Secretariat, explains: “This isn’t just a transfer of powers. It’s a nation-building exercise.”