The announcement of a new federal administrative region took the Dene Nation and the GNWT by surprise but the feds say consultation will ramp up before firm decisions are made.

On Oct. 24, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced it would be creating a new Arctic Region that would separate federal administration of Northern waters from its current Central and Arctic Region.

In an Oct. 26 press release, Dene Nation National Chief Norman Yakeleya questioned why the Dene Nation had not been consulted.

SA国际影视传媒淒epartment of Fisheries and Oceans Minister Jonathan Wilkinson mentioned that the people of the North are living in the front lines of climate change,SA国际影视传媒� stated Yakeleya in the release. SA国际影视传媒淭he

Dene are also People of the North, so we are questioning why weSA国际影视传媒檝e been left out of this process. Treaty 11 extends right to the Arctic Ocean.SA国际影视传媒�

The announcement of the new region was just the SA国际影视传媒渇irst stepSA国际影视传媒� in its creation, said Jocelyn Lubczuk, press secretary for Wilkinson.

SA国际影视传媒淲e are committed to working with Northern communities to ensure that they are directly involved in decision-making about their resources and environment as we build a suite of programs and services that are tailored to better meet their needs,SA国际影视传媒� she told News/North.

Lubczuk says the boundaries for the new region have not yet been set and that will be done in consultation with Northern leadership and that the new region SA国际影视传媒渨ill be implemented in phases.SA国际影视传媒�

The Dene Nation did not respond to a request for interview by press time.

In the DFOSA国际影视传媒檚 announcement, it said the new region would encompass all of CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 Inuit regions and that it hired a new assistant commissioner of the Coast Guard, Neil OSA国际影视传媒橰ourke, to be based in Yellowknife and a new DFO regional director general, Gabriel Nirlungayuk, to be based in Rankin Inlet.

Last Monday in the Legislative Assembly, Hay River North MLA R.J. Simpson questioned why OSA国际影视传媒橰ourke would be based in Yellowknife when current Coast Guard operations are based out of Hay River.

Infrastructure Minister Wally Schumann responded that he was not aware of consultations between the DFO and his department about this new region, but that he had been travelling and busy with session.

After Simpson compared this announcement with the SA国际影视传媒渙ld daysSA国际影视传媒� when Ottawa imposed decisions on the North with no consultation, Schumann committed to talking with Wilkinson about the DFOSA国际影视传媒檚 plans and bringing that information back to the house.

SA国际影视传媒淚t makes sense to keep ... the Coast Guard located in Hay River,SA国际影视传媒� said Schumann.