Key Recommendations of the
Commission for Constitutional Development

First Peoples' Rights

...the New Western Territory constitution recognize, uphold and protect the First Peoples' inherent right of self-government.

...the New Western Territory constitution recognize First Peoples' languages as of ficial languages that will be used in public, central, district and aboriginal government institutions.

...the New Western Territory constitution recognize that Aboriginal First Nations may opt out of the New Western Territory constitutional process and seek a direct link with the federal government.

Rights of Treaty First Nations

...the spirit, and the meaning and intent of Treaties 8 and 11 be recognized, upheld and protected. The Commission recommends that the constitution state that:

• the treaties deal with education, housing, health, economic development and state that taxes would not be imposed;
• the treaties guarantee their adherents nghts to hunt, fish and trap, as they always have, on their ancestral lands, without interference;
• the treaties, according to Dene oral history, were not land sunrenders, but agreements to share the land, air and water, with the consent of Treaty First Nations;
• the treaties established band councils as Treaty First Nations governments, and these governments are recognized as such;
• Treaty First Nations have the nght to establish a justice system and a code of ethics that embodies their traditions, cultures, values, customs, laws and institutions; and,
• Treaty First Nations will detemmine their own membership, that may include non-Dene.

Rights of Metis First Nations

...the following interpretation be stated in the New Western Territory constitution:

• citizens of the Metis First Nations will have the same rights to hunt, fish, trap and gather as those of the Treaty First Nations;
• Metis First Nations will have the right to a land base within the New Western Temtory and the size of these land bases will be equivalent to the amount of land that was offered under the failed Dene/Metis agreement which means that each Metis First Nation will receive five square miles for each of their citizens;
• each Metis First Nation will have the nght to exercise its inherent nght of self- government on their land base and to provide services to its citizens not living on the land base;
• each Metis First Nation will have the right to set the rules under which citizenship will be granted;
• citizens of the Metis First Nations will be entitled to receive the same program benefits that Indians and Inuit receive from the government of Canada and these program benefits will be administered by the governments of the Metis First Nations.

Rights of Gwichtin First Nations

The Commission recommends that the Gwich'in Comprehen- sive Claim Agreement with Canada, and any future self-govem- ment agreements negotiated by Gwich'in First Nations with Canada, be recognized, upheld and protected in the New Western Territory constitution.

Rights of Inuvialuit First Nations

The Commission recommends that the Inuvialuit Final Agree- ment and any agreement for self-government the Inuvialuit may reach with Canada will be recognized, upheld and protected in the New Western Territory constitution.

Orders of Government

...the New Western Territory constitution affimm that all authority to govem belongs to the people, collectively, and flows, collectively, from them to their institutions of government.

...the definition and ratification procedure for goveming authority flowing from the people be developed in Phase 11. This process should make sure the people of the New Western Territory have input into defining the flow and what that flow is.

...a New Western Territory constitution recognize different orders of government and the powers of each of those orders.

...authorities not identified in the Constitution as being the exclusive responsibility of the central order of government, be assumed to be vested in other orders of zovemment.

District Order of Government

...the New Western Territory constitution establish a district order of government which may be public, exclusively aboriginal or a combination of both.

...the New Western Territory constitution specify that the people of a district shall have a voice in accepting the fomm of government for the district, that is whether it shall be a public, exclusively aboriginal, or mixed form of government.

The Central Order of Government

...the New Western Territory Constitution establish a central order of government.

Distribution of Powers and Responsibilities

...the principle of asymmetry, or unequal distribution of powers, be recognized as acceptable among district governments.