IQALUIT, Nunavut - Western premiers are throwing their support behind a bid by the northern territories to cut their apron strings to the federal government.
And they're hoping that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will agree to let the territories become masters of their own destiny, given his new emphasis on the North and his long-standing belief in decentralization.
Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik, host of a two-day western premiers conference, said Thursday he was gratified to receive "very strong support" for devolving power from Ottawa to Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
Yukon already has a devolution agreement with the federal government.
The two other territories are particularly intent on gaining control over mineral and oil and gas development. Provinces regulate their own natural resource development but, in the North, Ottawa has control and rakes in all the proceeds.
"That's something we would like to see changed so that we can be like the rest of the country," Okalik said.
"I don't really enjoy going to Ottawa every year and asking for additional money to run our own affairs. I'd love to be able to run our own affairs and generate our own revenue in the future with our resources."
But a report commissioned by Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice has already said the Arctic territory is not ready to take over from the federal government.
Nunavut faces challenges ranging form social problems to economic development, but its biggest problem remains a shortage of trained people, said the report released last month.
And while Harper may be receptive in principle, the issue also risks plunging him into another round of fed-bashing over whether the territories should be able to reap the full benefit of their resource revenues without losing any federal transfers.
Nunavut currently receives about $800 million annually from the federal government under a program similar to equalization for have-not provinces. The Northwest Territories receives about $760 million.
N.W.T. Premier Joe Handley said he'd be satisfied to keep half of his territory's resource revenue but he warned that a simultaneous cap on federal transfers would be unacceptable. The last federal budget placed a cap on equalization payments to have-not provinces, which has left Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Saskatchewan irate that Harper broke his promise to shield their non-renewable resource revenues from equalization clawbacks.
Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert, who is planning to go to court in the fall to challenge the constitutionality of the equalization reforms, said he fully supports the territorial desire to control their resources. But he warned them not to trust the federal government in negotiating devolution.
"I've indicated to my colleagues you want to watch the federal Department of Finance and you want to watch promises made by the current prime minister."
Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie, meanwhile, warned that if Nunavut and the N.W.T. manage to negotiate a better deal on resource revenue sharing than his territory agreed to in 2003, he'd want to renegotiate the Yukon devolution agreement.
"Yukon will expect qualitative parity," he said.
While they want some of the same powers as provinces, the territories are not seeking full provincehood, Okalik said.
"To become a province requires a constitutional amendment and I don't see that on the agenda at this time."
In any event, the territories need to acquire more responsibilities before making a pitch for provincehood, he suggested.
Initially at least, Nunavut would have little to gain by taking over control of resource development. There is only one diamond mine in production in the territory at the moment.
But Okalik said there is "a lot of potential" for mineral development in the near future and, in the long run, offshore oil and natural gas will be a huge source of revenue.
For the N.W.T, Handley said devolution would mean gaining control over $275 million in annual mining royalties, with the potential to reap "billions of dollars over the next 10 years" as oil and gas and other mines come on stream.
Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said devolution is "good for Canada because the more resources can be managed and sustained closer to the community where people live, the greater chance they'll have of being developed appropriately."
The N.W.T. has been negotiating devolution off and on for years. But Doer said he hopes Harper will move on the file within his current mandate.
He noted that Harper is expected to unveil initiatives this summer aimed at securing Canada's sovereignty over the North and that he's a longtime proponent of decentralizing federal powers.
"I think he's got an opportunity to practice what he's preached in the past . . . There's an opportunity here that we don't want to miss," Doer said.
During the conference, Doer, Calvert, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and British Columbia's Gordon Campbell are getting an education on the challenges facing the territories.
Thursday morning they drove over rutted dirt roads to view the barren beauty of Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park on the edge of Iqaluit. Later in the day, they were scheduled to fly to Pangnirtung, almost 500 kilometres north of Iqaluit, to fish for Arctic char and attend a community feast.
