Editing Devolution (section)

===Northwest Territories===
The [[Northwest Territories]] (NWT) was governed from [[Ottawa]] from 1870 until the 1970s, except for the brief period between 1898 and 1905 when it was governed by an elected assembly. The [[Carrothers Commission]] was established in April 1963 by the government of [[Lester B. Pearson]] to examine the development of government in the NWT. It conducted surveys of opinion in the NWT in 1965 and 1966 and reported in 1966. Major recommendations included that the [[History of Northwest Territories capital cities|seat of government should be located in the territory]]. [[Yellowknife]] was selected as the territorial capital as a result. Transfer of many responsibilities from the federal government was recommended and carried out. This included responsibility for education, small business, public works, social services and local government. Since the report, the [[Politics of the Northwest Territories|government of the Northwest Territories]] has taken over responsibilities for several other programs and services including the delivery of health care, social services, education, administration of airports, and forestry management. The legislative jurisdiction of the [[Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories|territorial legislature]] is set out in section 16 of the ''Northwest Territories Act''.

Now, the government of Canada is negotiating the transfer of the Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada's remaining provincial-type responsibilities in the NWT. These include the legislative powers, programs and responsibilities for land and resources associated with the department's Northern Affairs Program (NAP) with respect to:

* Powers to develop, conserve, manage, and regulate of surface and subsurface natural resources in the NWT for mining and minerals (including oil and gas) administration, water management, land management and environmental management;
* Powers to control and administer public land with the right to use, sell or otherwise dispose of such land; and
* Powers to levy and collect resource royalties and other revenues from natural resources.

The Government of the Northwest Territories, the Aboriginal Summit and the Government of Canada have each appointed a Chief Negotiator to work on devolution. A Framework Agreement was concluded in 2004. The target date for the completion of devolution talks for the NWT was March 2007. However, stumbling blocks associated with the transfer of current federal employees to the territorial government, and the unresolved issue of how much money the Northwest Territories will receive for its resources has delayed the conclusion of a devolution agreement for the NWT.