DCHP-2

charter community DCHP-2 (August 2016)

• n. — Northwest Territories, Administration

  a settlement of at least 25 residents in the Northwest Territories granted the status of a municipal government.

  Type: 1. Origin — The Charter Communities Act, established by the government of the Northwest Territories in 1988, was designed to provide remote settlements with the opportunity to form their own local governments (Dickerson 1992: 172). The first charter community was Déline, which was granted charter community status in 1993 (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference). Settlements that have over 25 residents are able to apply for this standing, which provides them with the ability to elect a municipal council whose members can decide on issues of local importance such as public transportation and utilities, the enforcement and creation of municipal bylaws, and other forms of local infrastructure. The head of the local First Nations band is typically on the council. Usage of the term appears to be almost exclusively restricted to the Northwest Territories (see Chart 1), and is consequentially very uncommon outside of Canada (see Chart 2).