2014 ICC General Assembly Address, Inuvik, NWT

Inuit Circumpolar Council General Assembly

Inuvik, Northwest Territories

July 21, 2014

Address of the Canadian Head of Delegation, Terry Audla

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(Inuktitut)

Good afternoon Mr. Chair, Minister Aglukkaq, Members of the Executive Council, to our host, Nellie Cournoyea, fellow delegates and everyone here today.

I am very glad to be back here in Inuvik, the gateway to the beautiful Beaufort-Delta region. It is a privilege to stand, as head of the Canadian Delegation, in the presence of so many respected leaders. When I look around this room I am reassured that Inuit Nunaat is in good hands.

It has been a while since I visited Inuvik, so I took some time walking to our caucus meeting this morning. I heard the familiar sounds of an Arctic town waking up. I saw some new buildings and recalled some old buildings, like the Stringer and Grollier Hall, that are now gone. I allowed myself to be inspired by all of it. I did not rush as I am often inclined to do.

Experience has taught me that you can miss and forget things – essential things – when you hurry.

None of us is a stranger to this phenomenon.

Over the last 40 years, Inuit and non-Inuit have come to realize the enormous potential – largely in terms of oil, gas and minerals – that Inuit Nunaat holds. Indeed the world has taken note. Inuit have witnessed many experts, politicians and businesspeople scrambling to establish a stake in the Arctic resource boom.

People have been worrying that if they do not drive the development process in the right direction, the untapped potential could be squandered.

States and organizations, including our own, have clamoured to establish the policies, partnerships, strategies, councils, conferences, conclusions and declarations that they hope will define the course of development for Inuit Nunaat.

In many cases, this urgent interest from these groups has helped expand the conversation in positive ways.

For example, the European Union, one of the most powerful trading blocs on the planet, has been developing an Arctic Policy to set out a path for its increased engagement in the Arctic. Conclusions from a May 2014 meeting of the EU Council recognizes increased prospects for economic development in the region but acknowledges that development in the Arctic should be based on sustainable use of resources.

Another example, the Arctic Council’s 2013 Kiruna Declaration, recognizes, among other things, the rights of indigenous peoples in their traditional territories. It acknowledges the importance of traditional knowledge and scientific research as a foundation for decision-making on development. And, it commits to protecting the marine environment as waterways open for shipping.

Further, under the leadership of Canada’s Minister Leona Aglukkaq, the Arctic Council established ‘development for the people of the North’ as the theme for Canada`s two-year mandate.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was endorsed by Canada in November 2010. This is a document achieved through years of negotiation and learning. It expresses our right to own, use, develop and control the resources that we possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation.

Here in Canada, the federal government has shone a dazzling light on the northern parts of this country in the last several years. The Government has been implementing its vision for the North through its Northern Strategy and in so doing has advanced the position that economic development should be done in a sustainable way.

Notably, these policies and strategies tend to be designed for Arctic residents rather than by them. However, in Canada we have gone to great lengths to repatriate such decision-making.

After decades of negotiation, we have successfully gained control over large regions in the Canadian Arctic. We have settled comprehensive land claims agreements in the four Inuit regions across Canada’s Arctic – Inuvialuit Settlement Area, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut. We now have some of the private land holdings in the world.

These agreements are constitutionally entrenched. They provide the foundation and framework for the development and the review of project proposals.

When the Circumpolar Inuit Declaration on Resource Development Principles in Inuit Nunaat was released in 2011, Aqqaluk Lynge observed that Inuit are clearly no longer ‘the cartoon character Eskimos of 300 years ago’. Neither are the lands, ice and waters of Inuit Nunaat considered “Res Nullius” or seen as an empty space belonging to no one. That we have populated our territories and creatively harnessed its many renewable and non-renewable resources for a long time seems to have gained acceptance.

We took the time required to arrive at an appropriate compromise in our Inuit land claims agreements. With these in place and with international and national attention trained on the Arctic, there is potential of a real partnership for development in accordance to the principles Inuit have articulated.

However, in our global push to raise a voice, take a stand and state a position on the development of the Arctic, there remains a risk that important steps are being missed; that common understandings are giving way to the press of time.

Let us take a moment to reflect.

Decades ago now, Peter Frederik Rosing of Greenland remarked on something of which we ought not to lose sight. He said:

“The time when the Arctic was handled by the colonial powers, as if people were of no consequence is over. The ultimate purpose of what we are doing at this very conference is to change history …we the Inuit want to carve in rock that we are no longer just the objects of history – we are the subjects of the future history of the Arctic.”

In the midst of this world’s increasingly desperate thirst for oil, can we claim to be the diviners of our future?

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Arctic coastal states are making submissions to establish their sovereignty over large portions of Arctic Ocean seabed. Large swaths of ice and water identified in those submissions include areas of Inuit Nunaat, in which Inuit exist and have rights relating to the use of resources situated there.

As the Supreme Court of Canada explained in its recent Tsilhqot’in Nation decision, establishment of title – and the rights that bestows – does not require a people to piece together intensive use of well-defined tracts of land. It takes a territorial approach that reflects the different sustainable uses to which lands and waters have been put. A fascinating recent report by Claudio Aporta paints a such picture of our territory through the centuries-old use and occupation of sea ice by Inuit for travel and hunting purposes.

We are people of the ice. As an example, in mid-summer, in July, we had Arctic Bay hunters stranded on the ice flow. They made it home – ice pan to ice pan – with their small boat and qamutiq.

Inuit are here. We use and know this space and the resources it offers to us. It is as much in us as we are in it. As stewards of the Arctic and custodians of its wealth for future generations, we have a responsibility to carefully consider what actions both in Inuit Nunaat and internationally will mean today and down the road.

In Canada we have seen that we must remain vigilant. We must take control and steer development using a precautionary approach. This must apply to investigations into potential project sites, which may impact on the health of our seals, narwhal, walrus and beluga. This must apply to the development of measures relating to the trade in our seal and polar bear. In all cases, due diligence must be done and Inuit must be involved.

It does take time and energy to consider the interests of all stakeholders – time and energy, which may already be at a premium. But, as evidenced by our land claims agreements, Inuit are willing and able partners. Everyone benefits when the political confidence of Inuit is secured and respected. We are the subjects of the future history of the Arctic.

The ICC stated this position in its Declaration on Resource Development. This historic document emphasizes the need for balance. Development must proceed at an appropriate rate – with Inuit as equal partners in policy and decision-making affecting Inuit Nunaat. As former Premier of Greenland, Kuupik Kleist once said, “Inuit are part of the global economy”.

The creation of the Arctic Economic Council announced this month is a good example of space being given to residents of the Arctic to carefully plan for the kind of development they want to see and want future generations to enjoy.

In a similar spirit, we could envision an Inuit Chamber of Commerce. In this venue, we would prepare and resource more of our own businesses to be the minds behind resource development projects across Inuit Nunaat. If we took the time, we could develop a business culture that has the principles of our ICC Declaration as its set of fundamental principles.

Proponents of major development projects in Inuit Nunaat should actively seek Inuit partners. In all cases, they must turn their minds to how their proposals can return the greatest sustainable benefits to Inuit communities and households as well as to their own shareholders.

If we do this right, Inuit will hold those very shares in those companies in the future.

Inuit have been and will continue to be stewards of the Arctic. We live here. We bear witness to, hold hope for and feel the effects of development. Where a discussion about renewable or non-renewable resource development is anticipated, Inuit will be at the table.

In recent years, the protection of the lands, the environment and Inuit rights has been pursued through the negotiation of Impact and Benefit Agreements between developers and Inuit who might be affected by a proposed project. These agreements contain mechanisms for profit sharing, employment guarantees and environmental protection measures.

Though early days, these seem to be delivering real benefits for impacted communities. The Nunatsiavut Government in Labrador is now conducting a 10-year review of the Voisey`s Bay mining project, including the related IBA. In Nunavut, Inuit are now collecting royalties from resource development projects on Inuit-owned lands.

It is important to take stalk of the approaches we choose. If they are not supporting our Inuit youth gain skills and employment, if they are not protecting our renewable resources for future generations, we must return to the drawing board. Ultimately, our objective is to encourage social well-being and build self-reliance…to repair our boats – or build our boats – so that a rising tide floats them all.

For our part, we must continue to take the long view. While the development of oil, gas and minerals may be the key to our flourishing, we cannot afford to take a narrow perspective. We cannot rush this. We must reflect on lessons of the past, our traditional knowledge and scientific research of the present day to inform our decisions for the future.

In Canada, we have been blessed with a marvelous example of social development in the form of the Arctic Inspiration Prize. Each year it contributes $1-million dollars to support worthy projects that make a significant contribution to Arctic development. The founder and contributor of the annual award, Arnold Vitsig, is here with us. This year’s deadline is October 1st. Check the ITK and the ArcticNet websites. Only in Canada! Pity!

As we look forward to the next several days of discussions I would ask only this: Do not rush through this General Assembly. Let’s allow ourselves time to remember how we came to gather here, time to think creatively, and, time to reflect on the significance of what we are doing – for our One Arctic and our One Future.

NT5