Northern and Arctic affairs minister opens Arctic dialogue during Iqaluit visit

Inuit leaders met this week with Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand during the Arctic Sovereignty and Security Summit, co-hosted in Iqaluit by the territorial government and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

It was the new federal minister’s first visit to the territory since being sworn in last month.

Chartrand, who is Anishinaabe from Treaty 4 territory in Manitoba, was there to listen, she said.

“I think it’s really important to recognize that there’s already a vision here and it’s my opportunity to listen and to learn and to amplify that vision,” she said.

She met with Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok on Thursday and had breakfast with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Jeremy Tunraluk and representatives from other regional Inuit organizations on Friday morning.

“I was very happy with how the meeting went,” Tunraluk said.

Nutrition North was prominent in the discussions, he said.

An independent review of the food subsidy program was announced by the federal government in 2024.

Created in 2011 as a strategy to make essential foods more affordable for people who live in 124 isolated northern communities, the program serves all 25 municipalities in Nunavut and 14 in Nunavik.

Over the years, there have been complaints that retailers take the government’s subsidy but don’t pass along the full savings to their northern customers.

Chartrand’s Manitoba riding of Keewatinook Aski covers three-quarters of the province, including 20 isolated communities where Nutrition North is in effect.

“I understand the need for Nutrition North. I also understand the concerns with Nutrition North. I’ve already met with Aluki Kotierk,” she said, referring to the former two-term president of NTI picked by the federal government in February to lead a review of the program.

Her report is expected in 2026.

“(The federal government is) definitely looking at some reform,” Chartrand said.

The review process may include a summit this fall where communities would be able to weigh in, she said, adding she plans to return north early and often.

Akeeagok called his meeting with Chartrand “very constructive,” saying he looked forward to seeing her in the North “a lot more often.”

“I’m very interested in travelling as much as I can throughout the North,” Chartrand said. “I’ve also met with some of the corporations. (We’re) trying to understand what their aspirations are for the North.”

With Parliament’s passage of Bill C-5 Thursday — known as the One Canadian Economy Act — nation-building projects were also discussed, Tunraluk said.

The goal of the new law — one of the first introduced by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government — is to streamline approval and development processes for projects deemed to be in the national interest such as ports, mines and pipelines.

“It really feels like she wants to understand how the processes work within Nunavut and the processes within the Nunavut agreement,” Tunraluk said.