NTI advises Senate committee on duty to consult

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. representatives appeared Tuesday morning before a Senate committee studying the duty to consult Indigenous Peoples in development.

“The Nunavut Agreement has unique features that tie into the topic of your study,” the organization’s CEO Kilikvak Kabloona told the Senate committee on Indigenous Peoples.

“One of the fundamental objectives of our agreement is for Inuit to participate in decision-making concerning the use, management and conservation of land, water and resources.”

Kabloona spoke to the committee member alongside several First Nations and Métis leaders.

NTI vice-president Paul Irngaut appeared remotely, as he and president Gloria Uluqsi were unable to travel south due to flights being full, Kabloona said.

To meet the objectives of the Nunavut Agreement, consultations must be respectful of Inuit knowledge, culture and language, Kabloona said.

She also spoke about how bodies such as the Nunavut Impact Review Board, the Nunavut Planning Commission and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board fulfil “substantial consultation objectives.”

“While agreements and structures exist, more progress is needed to ensure Nunavut Inuit are fully recognized as equal partners in decisions that matter to us,” Kabloona said. “Communication with Inuit must increase and improve by meeting communities where they are.”