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The Dehcho Process refers to the land, resource and governance negotiation
process between the Dehcho First Nations, the Government
of the Northwest Territories and the Government
of Canada (the Parties). It is intended to achieve clarity on
ownership, sovereignty and jurisdiction of the lands and First Nations
in the Dehcho territory. Land Use Planning is only one piece of
this process.
On May 23, 2001, all three Parties signed a Framework
Agreement which lays out how negotiations will proceed, and
the Interim Measures Agreement which gives the Dehcho a role in
resource management decisions. The next stage of negotiations focuses
on Interim Land Withdrawals (granting interim protection from development)
and an Interim Resource Development Agreement
(to allow the Dehcho to benefit from resource development during
negotiations).
The Parties have agreed to work towards an Agreement-in-Principle
(AIP) in 5 years, but will first develop a broader General Agreement-in-Principle
(GAIP) as a stepping stone to keep momentum going and lay out the
major elements of a final agreement. The last step will be the negotiation
and ratification of the Final Agreement.
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The Land Use Plan and Interim
Land Withdrawals are closely related. To identify areas for
the Interim Land Withdrawals, the researchers looked at many of
the same issues the Committee needs to look at but in much less
detail so the proposed withdrawals offer a good starting point for
discussion of overall land use decisions. Since the Planning Committee
will have more information and time to work with, they will be able
to update the Proposed Interim Land Withdrawals as new information
becomes available. Both processes are improved by the presence of
the other.
For more information on the Dehcho Process, please contact DCFN
at (867) 695-2355 or visit the Dehcho First Nations web site.
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