KRG: Nunavik must benefit from Plan Nord

If you’re curious to learn more about what Quebec has in store for Nunavik, you’ll get some satisfaction when the architects of the Quebec government’s Plan Nord visit Nunavik early in 2011, Maggie Emudluk, the chair of the Kativik Regional Government, said told regional councillors Dec. 2.

Pierre Corbeil, Quebec’s native affairs minister, and Nathalie Normandeau, minister for natural resources and wildlife, plan to visit the region after the holidays to share more information about Plan Nord.

“We made a recommendation that they come and they’ve agreed to visit all the jurisdictions affected by the plan,” Emudluk said. “The government initiated this file so they should inform the population.”

Plan Nord will map out a 25-year plan for how forestry, mining and energy production will be developed above Quebec’s 49th parallel — an area that takes in all of Nunavik.

“Plan Nunavik,” which lays out the region’s own needs and priorities, was submitted to the Quebec government at the end of September, “the biggest one [priority] being the shortage of housing and the high cost of living in the North,” Emudluk said.

Nunavik’s wish-list includes millions of dollars for new roads and paving, a link to the province’s electrical grid, and a fibre-optic internet network, as well as 1,000 new houses.

There are 12 recommendations for development in the region, touching on tourism, mining and education.

But at a Nov. 25 meeting of First Nations and Inuit affected by Plan Nord, Emudluk said two more recommendations for development were added: on justice and public safety, and labour, for which working group members will be appointed.

Consultations on Plan Nord will continue through February, at which point the provincial government will submit a final proposal and its guidelines to Quebec’s national assembly, Emudluk said.

That timeline means Plan Nord’s announcement will be delayed even later than “very early” in 2011, as minister Corbeil predicted in October.

Plan Nord’s launch was originally scheduled for November 2010.

But Nunavik leaders say they will take the time to ensure the region benefits from the deal.

“We are struggling every day with a lack of housing and an increased cost of living,” Emudluk said. “There has to be money in return.”

“We are Canadians, we live in Quebec, and we pay high taxes. The service we get from our government has to be equal to other Quebeckers.”

KRG chair Maggie Emudluk (right), speaking at the KRG regional council meeting earlier this month, says Quebec’s Plan Nord must produce benefits for Nunavimmiut. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)