For as long as there have been communities in the NWT, people have found ways to organize themselves to assist each other. Some communities originated as fur trading posts and mission sites while others originated from activities such as mining, transportation and government. As these new communities grew, the first incorporated municipalities were formed. Over time, as aboriginal people moved into permanent communities and settlements, models of municipal and band government were put in place.

Starting in the 1960’s, programs were established to assist these emerging communities with some of the basic skills and authorities needed for community governance. This took the form of advisory councils. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, following the move of the GNWT to Yellowknife, new efforts were made to find forms of community government that would work in the smaller communities. These efforts resulted in the Hamlets Act, the Settlements Act and the Charter Communities Act. More recently, the Tlicho Community Government Act was created to provide a bridge between the municipal models and the desire to have community governments with specific Tlicho characteristics.

The people involved in a community government fall into one of three different roles. These are the Mayor or Chief, Councillors and Administration. To work well together, each group needs to understand and fulfill its role and respect the roles of the others. The basic roles of each are as follows:

The Mayor or Chief has three roles to fill:

• As a member of Council, the Mayor/Chief has the same responsibilities as other Councillors.
• As the CEO, the Mayor/Chief is responsible for chairing meetings, signing official papers, supervising the LGA and ensuring Council’s work is done.
• The Mayor/Chief also represents the community to other levels of government, hosts special visitors, attends meetings outside the community and speaks on behalf of Council.

An individual Councillor does not possess any authority to make decisions or provide instructions. As a member of Council, a Councillor has several duties to perform, including:

• understand current issues and staying in touch with what people in the community want (and don’t want).
• represent the interests of the public (all people in the community) .
• gather and consider information (reports, documents, expert advice etc).
• take time to think about decisions and making decisions based on what has been heard and what has been learned.
• follow proper procedures in making policies, bylaws and resolutions.
• setting policies (which are then administered by staff)
• support the decisions of Council once they are made.

The Administration is made up of the LGA and the staff that work for the community government. The LGA is hired by the Council to manage the day-to-day affairs of the community government.

Depending on the size of the community, the number of staff working for the community government can range from a few people to hundreds of people. Regardless of the community, it is important to note that generally the staff are hired by, and report to, the LGA. It is the LGA, not the Chief, Mayor or Councillors, who is responsible for directing and managing staff.

Additional information is available in the Community Councillors Handbook.

The basic role of the LGA is to make sure that the community government is meeting its obligations in keeping the community healthy and safe and providing the programs and services residents need. As such, the LGA essentially works as a manager within a political setting.

To fulfill their role, LGAs are expected to perform three critical functions:

The LGA serves as an advisor to Council. To do so, the LGA needs to be knowledgeable and up to date on rules, best practices and laws. If Council relies on incorrect information or poor advice, it may make mistakes that can have serious legal, financial or operational consequences for the community.

Different types of laws and best practices that an LGA must be aware of include:

• Legislation – legislation (also referred to as Acts or Statutes) is usually broader in scope and general. It is passed by a legislative body and basically contains directives that must be complied with to remain within the law. Legislation typically provides a general framework that requires, allows or prohibits certain actions, either by industry, communities or people.

• Regulations – after legislation is passed, the details of how the legislation will work and be enforced are often developed as regulations. A regulation refers to a specific requirement that can take various forms. While legislation often takes years to develop or revise, regulations can be created or changed within a few months.

• Policies – policies are written statements that provide direction in an organization and assist in decision-making. Policies often contain rules or thresholds that indicate what is allowed or not allowed.

• Procedures – procedures are a particular way of accomplishing something. Procedures are usually a series of steps that are to be followed to achieve a result.

An LGA provides information to Council so it can make informed decisions. The LGA does not tell Council what to decide but can point out whether Council has the authority to do something or how something must be done to ensure compliance with legislation, regulations, established policies and procedures, agreements or contracts.

An LGA also supports Council by conducting research on various issues, talking with officials in other levels of government and generally providing advice and guidance based on their experience.

An LGA serves as an administrator, carrying out Council’s instructions and managing the daily operations of the community government.

In this capacity, the LGA makes daily operational decisions in the following areas of responsibility:

• Council and governance
• Human resources
• Finances
• Infrastructure
• Program and service delivery

Much more detail on these topics is provided in Part 2 of the Handbook.

In order to know what powers and responsibilities a community government has, the Council and the LGA must be familiar with relevant territorial legislation. This includes municipal legislation as well as numerous other statutes that influence or impact different aspects of community government operations.

Municipal legislation includes the various acts that define the powers, authorities and responsibilities for each different type of community.

The legal status of a community is usually determined either by public request or on the initiative of the Minister of MACA. This means that a community can decide to alter its status. The four Tlicho communities are the exception as their statuses are now fixed in the Tlicho Agreement.

Each type of community government is established by, and gets its authority from, specific legislation. The acts mentioned below and their associated regulations spell out a community government’s authority and how it may operate. It is essential that a Council and the LGA be familiar with the provisions of the act and regulations that apply to their community.

• Cities, Towns and Villages Act – applies to larger communities such as Yellowknife, Hay River, Inuvik, Fort Smith, Norman Wells and Fort Simpson. These communities have extensive powers including raising substantial revenues through municipal taxation, ability to borrow money, full bylaw authorities and ability to acquire Commissioner’s Lands and administer lands within the municipal boundary.

• Hamlets Act – applies to smaller communities including Aklavik, Enterprise, Fort Liard, Fort McPherson, Fort Providence, Fort Resolution, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Tuktoyaktuk, Tulita and Ulukhaktok. Hamlets have similar powers as Cities, Towns or Villages but none are currently municipal taxing authorities.

• Tlicho Community Government Act – applies to the four Tlicho communities (Behchoko, Wekweeti, Gameti and Whati). This Act is very similar to the Hamlets Act but has been modified in certain ways to be consistent with the provisions of the Tlicho Agreement.

• Charter Communities Act – applies to the communities of Deline, Fort Good Hope and Tsiigehtchic. Charter communities have similar powers as Hamlets except that the details in the charter determine the leadership. Generally, the Chief of the First Nation Council is appointed to head the community government.

• First Nations / Designated Authorities – these communities include Behdzi Ahda First Nation (Colville Lake), Jean Marie River First Nation, K’atlodeeche First Nation (Hay River Reserve), Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation (Kakisa), Lutsel K’e First Nation, Nahanni Butte First Nation, Sambaa K’e Dene Band (Trout Lake), Pehdzeh Ki First Nation (Wrigley) and Yellowknives Dene First Nation (Dettah). These Indian Act Bands or First Nations are recognized as the primary authority in the community responsible for delivery of municipal services. Funding to deliver specific services is provided by federal or GNWT departments. Bands may borrow in areas where the federal government guarantees lending. They may also set their own election practices based on their custom practices.

See Differences in Community Government Structures for more information.

In addition to the acts that define a community government’s authority, there are a number of other GNWT Acts that influence different aspects of community government operations, including:

• All Terrain Vehicles Act – governs the use of all terrain vehicles. Part 2 of the act outlines how a Council can, through a bylaw, control the use and operation of all terrain vehicles within the community.

• Civil Emergency Measures Act – section 7 outlines the powers and duties of a local authority in dealing with local states of emergency.

• Conflict of Interest Act – outlines what a conflict of interest is, the procedure that must be followed for elected officials to declare conflict and what the penalty is for failure to disclose conflict.

• Curfew Act – section 3 outlines how a municipal government can establish and enforce a curfew in its community.

• Dog Act – outlines procedures for the appointment of dog officers, defines prohibitions and provides for seizures and destruction of dogs. Section 7 allows for a municipal bylaw to supersede the provisions of the act regarding impounding, selling and destroying dogs.

• Employment Standards Act – applies to most employers and employees and sets out minimum standards that employers must follow for their employees in areas such as hours of work, overtime, minimum wage, holidays etc.

• Environmental Protection Act – outlines standards for dealing with contaminants and unsightly lands and the remedies that can be applied. In particular, LGAs should be familiar with the basics for reporting spills. The 24 hour Spill Report Line is (867)-920-8130.

• Fire Prevention Act – outlines mandatory requirements on how fire prevention and protection services are provided. If there is not a Fire Chief or Acting Chief in a community, Council must designate a community government employee (often the LGA) to be the local assistant to the Fire Marshal.

• Liquor Act – outlines the rules and procedures for the distribution and sale of liquor. Section 54 sets out authorities where municipal governments can exercise bylaw authority.

• Local Authorities Elections Act – outlines the process for elections for municipal governments and local education authorities. It should be noted that if a returning officer isn’t appointed within the guidelines of the act, the LGA automatically becomes the returning officer (see s. 27(2)).

• Lotteries Act –governs the operation of lotteries. The responsibility for administering lotteries may be delegated to a municipal government.

• Motor Vehicles Act – governs motor vehicle use. Sections 343 to 248 outline how a Council may make bylaws controlling the use of motor vehicles within the community.

• Planning Act – outlines what a Council may do in preparing general plans, development schemes and zoning bylaws for the development of the community and how enforcement and arrears should be handled.

• Property Assessment and Taxation Act – explains the process for property assessment and taxation in the NWT. Of specific interest are sections 75 to 79 which deal with issues such as establishing mill rates, municipal taxation areas and property taxes.

• Public Health Act – sets out standards and rules to protect the health of the public. In particular, community governments need to be aware of, and compliant with, new Water Supply System Regulations that came into effective on April 1, 2010.

• Safety Act – outlines the responsibilities of an employer to provide a safe work place for its employees.

• Workers Compensation Act – establishes a system of compulsory, no-fault mutual insurance for workers and employers that provides for the sustainable payment of compensation to injured or diseased workers.