Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

speakup

NAIN, N.L. - Nunatsiavut, the self-governing Inuit region in northern Labrador, has a new president.

Jim Lyall of Nain was declared elected Thursday. He won 48 per cent of the vote in Tuesday's presidential election, placing well ahead of former Nain resident Natan Obed, who picked up 25 per cent of the vote.

Lyall will serve a four-year term.

In 2004, the Inuit voted to accept a land-claim settlement, which led to the creation of a new territory the size of New Brunswick.

The agreement - almost 30 years in the making - granted the Inuit jurisdiction over natural resources, social services, justice, education and health.

But native leaders have said it will take a decade or more before the Inuit assume full control of those areas of jurisdiction.

Under the terms of the 2004 agreement, the Labrador Inuit own 15,800 square kilometres of land. They also have limited resource and management rights in another 56,700 square kilometres, an area known as the settlement area.

The Labrador Inuit elected their first government in October 2006. Eight candidates were elected to the new Nunatsiavut General Assembly. The election of a president was slated for two years later.

The 5,300-member Labrador Inuit Association was the last of Canada's Inuit to settle a land claim.

The province agreed to give $140 million to the region over 15 years. Ottawa will contribute another $156 million.

But Nunatsiavut, which means "our beautiful land" in Inuktitut, is not a reserve and the Inuit continue to be subject to federal and provincial taxes.

Unlike some aboriginal groups, Canada's Inuit did not sign treaties with the British Crown. But in the 1970s, prompted in part by growing resource development, they started to lay claim to their traditional territories.

The Nunatsiavut legislature is in Hopedale, but its administrative offices are Nain, Labrador's most northerly settlement.

The other candidates in the presidential race, Johannes Lampe of Nain and Zippie Nochasak of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, placed third and fourth with 17 per cent and 10 per cent of the vote respectively.

Under the Labrador Inuit Constitution, a candidate can't be named president unless they win more than 50 per cent of the vote.

Since Lyall won only 48 per cent of vote, a run-off vote with the runner-up was required.

However, electoral officer Jack Shiwak used his discretion to declare Lyall the winner when Obed declined to run again.

Shiwak said he made the binding decision because it was unclear under the current rules whether any of the other defeated candidates could seek to contest another election.