Gary N. Wilson

The Canadian federal system was never designed to recognize Indigenous governance, and it has resisted formal institutional change. But change has come. Indigenous communities in the North have successfully negotiated the creation of self-governing regions, most of which have been situated politically and institutionally within existing constituent units of the Canadian federation. These varied governance arrangements are forms of nested federalism, a model that is transforming Canadian federalism as it reformulates the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the state. Nested Federalism and Inuit Governance in the Canadian Arctic traces the political journey toward self-governance taken by three predominantly Inuit regions over the past forty years: Nunavik in northern Québec, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the western Northwest Territories, and Nunatsiavut in northern Labrador. This meticulous analysis of the regions’ development trajectories provides new insight into the evolution of Indigenous self-government, as well as its consequences for Indigenous communities and for Canadian federalism.

The Canadian federal system was never designed to recognize Indigenous governance, and it has resisted formal institutional change. But change has come. Indigenous communities in the North have successfully negotiated the creation of self-governing regions, most of which have been situated politically and institutionally within existing constituent units of the Canadian federation. These varied governance arrangements are forms of nested federalism, a model that is transforming Canadian federalism as it reformulates the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the state. Nested Federalism and Inuit Governance in the Canadian Arctic traces the political journey toward self-governance taken by three predominantly Inuit regions over the past forty years: Nunavik in northern Québec, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the western Northwest Territories, and Nunatsiavut in northern Labrador. This meticulous analysis of the regions' development trajectories provides new insight into the evolution of Indigenous self-government, as well as its consequences for Indigenous communities and for Canadian federalism.

Local Government in Action is a simulation about a fictional, medium-sized municipality called Summerville. It provides an interactive teaching tool with a focus on governance and community development in small and medium-sized municipalities in Canada. It also examines the major issues faced by resource-based communities and communities on the peripheries of metropolitan areas. Participants in the simulation play the roles of municipal politicians, administrators, and community members in order to respond to a series of issues and challenges that confront Summerville. The simulation provides participants with a sense of what real decision-making is like by requiring them to deal with competing interests, conflicting points of view, and the occasional clash between "common sense solutions" and the actions that are permissible under law. It also demonstrates the processes involved in council meetings, the roles played by municipal staff, and the nature of the relationship between elected officials, appointed officials, and the public. Additionally, this exercise offers participants the opportunity to practice the skills required to make effective presentations, to participate in public meetings, and to lobby. The text is accompanied by an instructor's manual on CD-Rom that mirrors the content of the workbook and provides goals and ideas for making the simulation more successful in terms of pedagogy.