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McLeod to lead NWT
Bob McLeod, the Northwest Territories point man on the Mackenzie Gas Project over recent years, will bring some added clout to that responsibility as the newly elected premier of the NWT.
He headed off two other candidates in a secret ballot to gain the support of his 18 fellow members of the legislature, which has no political parties and is run by consensus government.
McLeod, who was formerly minister of industry, trade and investment and is seen as a consensus builder, said his priorities are to attract new investment to a struggling economic region, diversify the economy, find answers to the NWT’s high cost of living and shortage of affordable housing, resolve unsettled land claims for aboriginal communities and accelerate a prolonged process to transfer control of the NWT’s lands, resources and royalties from the Canadian government.
There is a broad agreement that unless the NWT has control over its land, water, wildlife and resources the approval process for major infrastructure projects, such as the Mackenzie Gas Project, or MGP, will deter future investment in its vast mineral and petroleum riches.
Declining population “We have some significant challenges,” McLeod conceded. “We’re one of only two jurisdictions in Canada (which has 10 provinces and three territories) to see our population decline. We know there are some systemic, fundamental challenges that we have to deal with in order to get people to come up and live up here.”
McLeod wasted no time deciding to retain his oversight of the MGP, which is bogged down in negotiations between the proponents and Canadian government over a fiscal agreement and is lagging so far behind the behind the development of shale gas in North America that analysts question whether the project will proceed this decade.
Peter Tertzakian, with ARC Financial, said the MGP has “long-term merit, but the structural disruption of shale gas diminishes its viability.”
Brendan Bell, McLeod’s predecessor in the MGP post, told the Canadian Press news agency in October that the transfer of power from the federal government is the first issue facing the legislature.
He said there is a consensus among legislators and within the NWT that the region should “look and act and feel a lot more like a province, with more responsibility and authority over lands and resources.”
But that move hinges on the contentious issue of how much responsibility is given to the public government and how much to aboriginal governments, Bell said.
—Gary Park
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