|
|
| Northwest
Territories |
|
|
| Motto:
none |
 |
| Official
Languages |
Chipewyan,
Cree,
English,
French,
Gwich’in,
Inuinnaqtun,
Inuktitut,
Inuvialuktun,
North
Slavey, South
Slavey, Tłįchǫ |
| Flower |
Mountain
Avens |
| Tree |
Tamarack |
| Bird |
Gyr
Falcon |
| Capital |
Yellowknife |
Area
Total
- Land
- Water (%
of total) |
1,346,106 km²
1,183,085 km²
163,021 km² (12.11%) |
| Time
Zone |
UTC-7 |
Located in northern Canada, the
Northwest Territories are east of
the Yukon,
west and south of Nunavut
and north of British
Columbia, Alberta,
and Saskatchewan.
It has an area of 1,171,918 square
kilometres. Its capital has been
Yellowknife since 1967.
Geographical features include the
vast Great Bear and Great Slave
Lakes, as well as the immense Mackenzie
River and the canyons of the Nahanni
River, a national park and UNESCO
World Heritage Site. Territorial
islands in the Arctic Archipelago
include Banks Island, Parry Peninsula,
Prince Patrick Island, and parts
of Victoria Island and Melville
Island. The highest point is Mount
Nirvana near the border with Yukon
at elevation 2773 m (9098 ft).
Government
As a territory, Northwest Territories
has fewer rights than the provinces
do. During his term, Premier Kakfwi
pushed to have the federal government
accord more rights to the territory,
including having a greater share
of the returns from the territory's
natural resources go to the territory.
[3] Devolution of powers to the
territory was an issue in the 20th
general election in 2003, and has
been ever since the territory began
electing members in 1881.
The Commissioner of NWT is the
chief executive and is appointed
by the Governor-in-Council of Canada
on the recommendation of the federal
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development. The position used to
be more administrative and governmental
but with the devolution of more
and more powers to the elected assembly
since 1967 the position has become
symbolic. Since 1985 the Commissioner
no longer chairs meetings of the
Executive Council (or cabinet) and
the federal government has instructed
commissioners to behave like a provincial
lieutenant-governor. Unlike lieutenant-governors,
the commissioner is not a formal
representative of the Queen of Canada.
Unlike provincial governments,
the Government of Northwest Territories
does not have political parties,
except for the period between 1898
and 1905. It is a consensus government
called the Legislative Assembly.
This group is composed of one member
elected from each of the nineteen
constituencies. After each general
election, the new parliament elects
a premier and speaker by secret
ballot. Seven MLAs are also chosen
as cabinet ministers, with the remainder
forming the opposition. The territory's
most recent general election was
on November 24, 2003. The head of
state for the territories is a Commissioner
appointed by the federal government.
The Commissioner had full governmental
powers until 1980 when the territories
were given greater self government.
The legislature then began electing
a cabinet and Government Leader
later known as the Premier.
Economy
The territory enjoys vast geological
resources including diamonds,
gold, and natural gas. In particular,
NWT diamonds are touted as an ethical
alternative that allays risks of
supporting conflicts by purchasing
blood diamonds.
However, their exploitation has
raised environmental concerns, not
least the potential havoc that a
spill from tailings ponds could
cause to unspoiled wilderness areas
such as the Nahanni National Park
Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. The Nahanni National Park
Reserve however is far away from
any current diamond mine in production.
The vast natural resources and
relatively low population give Northwest
Territorities the highest per capita
GDP of all provinces or territorites
in Canada. In fact, its per capita
GDP of C$94,953 would rank it first
in the world if it were considered
as its own country, well ahead of
2nd place Luxembourg (at approximately
C$83,000 (nominal GDP)).
Culture
Aboriginal issues in Northwest
Territories include the fate of
the Dene who, in the 1940s, were
employed to carry radioactive uranium
ore from the mines on Great Bear
Lake. Their cancer rates skyrocketed
due to lack of safety procedures
that were available to their white
colleagues.
Another issue is historic racial
tension based on the bloody history
between the Dene and the Inuit,
who nevertheless have taken recent
steps towards reconciliation.
Land claims in NWT culminated with
the creation of the Inuit homeland
of Nunavut, the result of the largest
land claim in Canadian history.
Another land claims agreement with
the Dogrib nation created a region
within NWT called Tli Cho, between
Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes,
which will give the Dogrib their
own legislative bodies, taxes, resource
royalties, and other affairs, though
NWT will still maintain control
over such areas as health and education.
This area includes two of Canada's
three diamond mines at Ekati and
Diavik.
