Signing with Harper in Yellowknife marks step toward new powers for NWT

YELLOWKNIFE – The stroke of a pen has brought the Northwest Territories a step closer to more province-like powers.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has signed a draft at the legislature in Yellowknife that marks the end of talks to loosen the territory’s ties with Ottawa.

Harper says that means the heavy lifting on the agreement, which he signed with N.W.T. Premier Bob McLeod, is done.

The deal, which is still subject to public input, would put control over territorial resources in the hands of northerners for the first time.

It would also give them a big chunk of the royalties those resources produce — money that would be shared with the N.W.T.’s aboriginal governments.

The signed document isn’t the final version of the deal — just the final text reached by negotiators.

Devolution, which does not mean full provincial status for the territories, is expected to come into force on April 1, 2014.

Of the three northern territories, only the Yukon controls its own resources. Negotiations with Nunavut have begun, but have a long way to go.