Devolución

Los Territorios del Noroeste (TNO) fueron gobernados desde Ottawa desde 1870 hasta la década de 1970, excepto durante el breve período entre 1898 y 1905, cuando fueron gobernados por una asamblea electa. La Comisión Carrothers fue establecida en abril de 1963 por el gobierno de Lester B. Pearson para examinar el desarrollo del gobierno en los TNO. Realizó encuestas de opinión en los TNO en 1965 y 1966 y presentó su informe en 1966. Entre las principales recomendaciones se encontraba que la sede del gobierno debía ubicarse en el territorio . Como resultado, Yellowknife fue seleccionada como capital territorial. Se recomendó y se llevó a cabo la transferencia de muchas responsabilidades del gobierno federal. Esto incluía la responsabilidad de la educación, las pequeñas empresas, las obras públicas, los servicios sociales y el gobierno local. Desde la publicación del informe, el gobierno de los Territorios del Noroeste ha asumido responsabilidades en varios otros programas y servicios, incluyendo la prestación de atención médica, servicios sociales, educación, administración de aeropuertos y gestión forestal. La jurisdicción legislativa de la legislatura territorial está establecida en la sección 16 de la Ley de los Territorios del Noroeste .

Now, the government of Canada is negotiating the transfer of the Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada's remaining provincial-type responsibilities in the NWT. These include the legislative powers, programs and responsibilities for land and resources associated with the department's Northern Affairs Program (NAP) with respect to:

• Powers to develop, conserve, manage, and regulate of surface and subsurface natural resources in the NWT for mining and minerals (including oil and gas) administration, water management, land management and environmental management;
• Powers to control and administer public land with the right to use, sell or otherwise dispose of such land; and
• Powers to levy and collect resource royalties and other revenues from natural resources.

The Government of the Northwest Territories, the Aboriginal Summit and the Government of Canada have each appointed a Chief Negotiator to work on devolution. A Framework Agreement was concluded in 2004. The target date for the completion of devolution talks for the NWT was March 2007. However, stumbling blocks associated with the transfer of current federal employees to the territorial government, and the unresolved issue of how much money the Northwest Territories will receive for its resources has delayed the conclusion of a devolution agreement for the NWT.

In 1963, the federal government established the Carrothers Commission to look at the issue of government in the north. After extensive study and consultation, the Commission concluded that division of the NWT was probably both advisable and inevitable. There was a recognition that Northerners wanted to run their own affairs and must be given the opportunity to do so. At the same time, however, it noted that governmental reform was required before this could happen. It recommended the establishment of a new system of representative government. As a result, in the late 1960s and 1970s, the federal government gradually created electoral constituencies and transferred many federally run programs to the territorial government. Northerners took on more and more responsibility for the day-to-day running of their own affairs. In 1982 a plebiscite was held in the NWT asking the question, "Do you think the NWT should be divided?" Of the eligible voters 53 percent participated in the plebiscite, with 56.4 percent of them voting "yes". Voter turnout and support for division was particularly strong in the Eastern Arctic. The Inuit population of the eastern section of the territory had become increasingly receptive of the idea of self-government. It was viewed as the best way to promote and protect their culture and traditions and address their unique regional concerns.

Tanto la Asamblea Legislativa de los Territorios del Noroeste como el gobierno federal aceptaron la idea de dividir el territorio. Esta idea se consideró un paso importante para que los inuit y otros habitantes del Ártico Central y Oriental pudieran tomar las riendas de su propio destino. Sin embargo, existían algunas reservas. Antes de poder actuar, era necesario abordar ciertas consideraciones prácticas. En primer lugar, debían resolverse las reclamaciones territoriales pendientes. En segundo lugar, todas las partes debían acordar una nueva frontera . Finalmente, todas las partes debían acordar la división de poderes entre los niveles territorial, regional y local de gobierno. Los diversos gobiernos y grupos indígenas colaboraron estrechamente para lograr estos objetivos. El Acuerdo de Reclamaciones Territoriales de Nunavut fue ratificado por los inuit en noviembre de 1992, firmado por el Primer Ministro de Canadá el 25 de mayo de 1993 y aprobado por el Parlamento canadiense en junio del mismo año. Fue el mayor acuerdo de reclamación territorial indígena en la historia de Canadá. Otorgó a los inuit el título de propiedad sobre 350 000 ^km² ( 140 000 millas cuadradas ) . También otorgó a los inuit transferencias de capital del gobierno federal por un monto superior a 1.100 millones de dólares durante los próximos 14 años. Este dinero se mantendrá en fideicomiso y los intereses se destinarán a diversos proyectos, incluyendo financiamiento para empresas regionales y becas para estudiantes. Los inuit también obtuvieron una participación en las regalías de los recursos, derechos de caza y un mayor protagonismo en la gestión de la tierra y la protección del medio ambiente. El acuerdo sobre reclamaciones territoriales también comprometió al Gobierno de Canadá a recomendar al Parlamento una legislación para la creación de un nuevo territorio en la parte oriental de los Territorios del Noroeste.    

Mientras avanzaban las negociaciones para la resolución de reclamaciones territoriales, también se trabajaba en la determinación de los posibles límites jurisdiccionales para un nuevo Territorio Oriental. En mayo de 1992, se presentó una propuesta a todos los votantes de los Territorios del Noroeste en un plebiscito. El 54 % de los votantes apoyó la propuesta. El Gobierno de los Territorios del Noroeste, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (la organización de reclamaciones inuit) y el gobierno federal adoptaron formalmente la división territorial en el Acuerdo Político de Nunavut. El último elemento se concretó el 10 de junio de 1993, cuando la Ley de Nunavut recibió la Sanción Real . Esta ley estableció oficialmente el territorio de Nunavut y proporcionó un marco legal para su gobierno. Asimismo, fijó el 1 de abril de 1999 como la fecha de entrada en vigor del nuevo territorio.

El gobierno de Nunavut está negociando actualmente con el gobierno de Canadá un acuerdo de descentralización. Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, la organización de los inuit de Nunavut, también participa en las negociaciones para garantizar que se representen los intereses de los inuit.

Devolution over natural resources to the government of Nunavut moved forward with the appointment of a Ministerial Representative for Nunavut Devolution. The representative has held meetings with interested parties including the boards established under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA), territorial and federal government departments in order to determine if devolution will occur and if so the future mandate of devolution. The government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik have appointed negotiators.

In 1896, prospectors discovered gold in Yukon, which prompted a massive gold rush that saw the population of Yukon grow very rapidly. By 1898, Dawson grew into the largest Canadian city west of Winnipeg, with a population of 40,000. In response, the Canadian government officially established the Yukon Territory in 1898. The North-West Mounted Police were sent in to ensure Canadian jurisdiction and the Yukon Act provided for a commissioner to administer the territory. The 1898 statute granted the Commissioner in Council "the same powers to make ordinances... as are possessed by the Lieutenant Governor of the North-west Territories, acting by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly thereof". In 1908 amendments to the Yukon Act transformed the Council into an elected body.

Over time the territorial government exercised expanded functions. Relevant developments include the following:

• By the mid-1960s, schools, public works, welfare, and various other matters of a local nature had come under territorial administration.
• Increased authority of elected Council members over the ensuing period contributed to significant changes in the Yukon Commissioner's role. In 1979, instructions from the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Minister) directed the Commissioner to allow elected members and the Executive Council to make important policy decisions, specifying that his/her actions should normally be based on the advice and taken with the consent of the elected Executive Council.
• As in the Northwest Territories, federal responsibilities were transferred to the Yukon government in the 1980s. In 1988 the Minister and the Yukon Government Leader signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing the parties to smooth the progress of devolution of remaining province-like responsibilities to the Yukon Government. Responsibilities transferred since then include fisheries, mine safety, intra-territorial roads, hospitals and community-health care, oil-and-gas and, most recently, natural resources.
• Las conversaciones para transferir las responsabilidades de gestión de tierras y recursos al Gobierno del Yukón comenzaron en 1996, seguidas de una propuesta formal de descentralización federal al Gobierno del Yukón en enero de 1997. En septiembre de 1998 se firmó un Protocolo de Descentralización para guiar las negociaciones. El 28 de agosto de 2001 se finalizó el borrador del Acuerdo de Transferencia de Competencias para su consideración. El Acuerdo de Transferencia de Competencias del Yukón se concluyó el 29 de octubre de 2001, y el Gobierno de Canadá autorizó la transferencia de las responsabilidades restantes, similares a las de una provincia, en materia de gestión de tierras, agua y recursos al Gobierno del Yukón el 1 de abril de 2003.

Todos los estados constituyentes de México son plenamente autónomos y conforman una federación. El Distrito Federal, originalmente integrado por la Ciudad de México y otros municipios, fue creado en 1824 para ser la capital de la federación. Como tal, era gobernado directamente por el gobierno central o federal y el presidente de México nombraba a su gobernador o regente ejecutivo. Si bien los municipios dentro del Distrito Federal eran autónomos, sus poderes eran limitados. En 1928, estos municipios fueron abolidos y transformados en delegaciones o distritos no autónomos y un "Departamento Central", posteriormente renombrado como Ciudad de México. En 1970, este departamento se dividió en cuatro nuevas delegaciones , y la Ciudad de México fue definida constitucionalmente como sinónimo y coterminal con todo el Distrito Federal. ^{[ 9 ]} (Por lo tanto, los distritos del Distrito Federal son distritos de la Ciudad de México).

In the 1980s, the citizens of the Federal District, being the most populated federal entity in Mexico, began to demand home rule: a devolution of autonomy in order to directly elect their head of government and to set up a Legislative Assembly. In 1987, an Assembly of Representatives was created, by constitutional decree, whose members were elected by popular vote. The devolution of the executive power was not granted until 1997 when the first head of government was elected by popular vote. Finally, in 2000, power was devolved to the delegaciones, though limited: residents can now elect their own "heads of borough government" (jefes delegacionales, in Spanish), but the delegaciones do not have regulatory powers and are not constituted by a board of trustees, like the municipalities of the constituent states.

The autonomy, or home rule, of the Federal District, was granted by the federal government, which in principle has the right to remove it. The president of Mexico still holds the final word in some decisions (e.g. he must approve some posts), and the Congress of the Union reviews the budget of the Federal District and sets the limit to its debt.^[10]

Some left-wing groups and political parties have advocated, since the 1980s, for a full devolution of powers by transforming the Federal District into the thirty-second constituent state of the Federation (with the proposed name of "State of the Valley of Mexico", to be distinguished from the state of Mexico; another proposed name is "State of the Anahuac").

In a recent amendment to the Constitution of Mexico, the country was defined as a "pluricultural nation" founded upon the "indigenous peoples".^[11] They are granted "free-determination" to choose the social, economic, cultural and political organization for which they are to elect representatives democratically in whatever manner they see fit, traditionally or otherwise, as long as women have the same opportunities to participate in their social and political life. There are, however, no prescribed limits to their territories, and they are still under the jurisdiction of the municipalities and states in which they are located; the indigenous peoples can elect representatives before the municipal councils. In practice, they are allowed to have an autonomous form of self-government, but they are still subject to the rights and responsibilities set forth by the federal constitution and the constitution of the states in which they are located.^[12]

In the United States, the District of Columbia offers an illustration of devolved government. The District is separate from any state, and has its own elected government. In many ways, on a day-to-day basis, it operates much like another state, with its own laws, court system, Department of Motor Vehicles, public university, and so on. However, the governments of the 50 states are reserved a broad range of powers in the U.S. Constitution, and most of their laws cannot be voided by any act of U.S. federal government. The District of Columbia, by contrast, is constitutionally under the sole control of the United States Congress, which created the current District government by statute. Any law passed by the District legislature can be nullified by congressional action, and indeed the District government could be significantly altered or eliminated by a simple majority vote in Congress.