July 21, 2006
Nunavut Planning Commission
turns new leaf
The approval of
this plan marks a turning point for the commission
NUNATSIAQ NEWS
The Nunavut Planning Commisson
has come up with a 10-year plan to get back on course, following the near-collapse
of the organization last year.
The NPCs new strategic
plan, approved at a meeting held in Baker Lake during the week of July 3, includes
provisions to strengthen the commissions governance, provide detailed
budgeting for the next decade and improvements to the organizations financial
controls.
The approval of this
plan marks a turning point for the commission, said interim chair Ron
Roach, in a press release.
The announcement comes
after an embarrassing and chaotic period last year, sparked by a bitter dispute
between board members and the NPCs longstanding chair, Bob Lyall, and
longstanding executive director, Luke Coady.
Lyall and Coady have since
departed the organization, following the release of two reports: a management
review by the Aarluk consulting firm, and a special audit report by the Mackay
accounting firm.
The Aarluk and Mackay reports
were done after a group of five commissioners rebelled in May 2005 against the
commissions bosses, making numerous allegations related to their inability
to see financial information, including annual auditors letters and information
about salary increases.
Since then, Ron Roach has
taken on the job of interim chair, and Sharon Ehaloak of Cambridge Bay is now
the NPCs new executive director.
Improved financial controls
could prevent the organization from overspending, as happened during the fiscal
year of 2004, when the NPC managed to run up a deficit of $140,000.
The commission, formed
in 1993, is an institution of public government created by the terms
of the land claims agreement.
Its main role is to draw
up land use plans for the territory, but most Nunavut regions do not yet have
final land use plans.
The NPCs new strategic
plan sets a deadline to complete a Nunavut-wide land-use plan over the next
decade, rather than do regional land-use plans one at a time.
Although a completed land
use plan exists for the Kivalliq region, it now needs to be updated in light
of Nunavuts recent explosion of prospecting activity there, including
prospecting for uranium.
The commission plans to
present its strategic plan to the DIAND minister and to the Nunavut Implementation
Panel.
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