Nunavut
Nunavut became Canada's third territory on April
1, 1999. For the first time since the entry of Newfoundland into
Confederation fifty years ago, the internal boundaries of Canada had changed.
Carved entirely out of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut covers 2 000
000 square kilometres, or approximately one-fifth of Canada’s surface.
Although the Northwest Territories has been reduced several times in the
course of Canadian history, this most recent boundary change is unique
in that it is the result of an initiative by the Aboriginal inhabitants
of the Territory. Indeed, eighty-three percent of the 26 000 residents
of Nunavut are Inuit. "Nunavut" is an Inuktitut word meaning
"Our Land."
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Photograph of Pangnirtung Pass, Nunavut
Historical, Jurisdictional and Political Context
Today’s Inuit are thought to be descendants of people who came
from Asia several millennia ago. They have lived "off the land",
developing and sustaining an unique way of life from the rich mammal,
fish and bird life of the Arctic lands and seas. Their lifestyle has adapted
to the change introduced into the North by European peoples, but it has
not been submerged by those changes. "Nunavut" is a term that
has been part of the vocabulary of generations of Inuit and, viewed in
this context of their cultural originality and continuity, Nunavut is
not a novel concept.
The Inuit were in the forefront of the political re-awakening of Canada's
Aboriginal peoples which took place in the late 1960s and 1970s. For many
years, the Inuit conducted research, negotiations and communication; efforts
that culminated in the enactment of two pieces of legislation in 1993:
the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, and the Nunavut Act. The land claim
settlement, the largest in Canada, gives the Inuit ownership of 355 842
square kilometres of land, including subsurface minerals in 35 257 square
kilometres of that total, and compensation from the federal government
of $1.148 billion over 14 years. All other lands are Crown lands where
Inuit have the right to hunt, trap, fish and participate in the management
of the territory. The Nunavut Act creates the Nunavut territory and its
Government and provides an institutional footing as to how laws will be
made, executed and interpreted.
Nunavut has the same status and powers that the Northwest Territories
and Yukon Territory have. Through their new government, Nunavut
residents are in charge of many services, notably education, health,
social services, language, culture, housing and justice. Government
departments and agencies are to be decentralized to ensure access
to services and jobs. A 19 member elected legislative assembly,
including cabinet, and a single-level territorial court are the
primary institutions. The legislative assembly operates in a consensus-style
without political parties. Federally, residents will be represented
by one member of parliament and one senator.
Offshore Boundaries
Canada made agreements concerning a number of offshore boundaries from
1970 onward.
- In 1973, the Kingdom of Denmark and the Government of Canada agreed
to a dividing line in the waters between Kalaallit Nunaat and Canada
beyond which neither would extend its sovereign rights for the purpose
of exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of the continental
shelf.
- In 1977, Canada (and many other countries) extended their maritime
jurisdictions (Exclusive Economic Zones) to 200 nautical miles off their
coasts.
- In 1984, the International Court of Justice gave a binding decision
concerning the Canada-U.S. boundary in the Gulf of Maine based on the
submissions from the governments of Canada and the United States.
- In 1992, the International Court of Arbitation awarded France exclusive
economic jurisdiction to an area around its islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
and also a corridor extending out to international waters.
The animation Territorial Evolution 1867 to 1999 shows sequentually the history of
the political boundary changes in Canada from Confederation to the
creation of Nunavut.
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