Arctic leaders, groups say Arctic policy report offers good direction

“We welcome the recommendation in Ms. Simon’s report to accept the Pikialasorsuaq recommendation to create an Inuit led management area and monitoring regime for the entire Pikialasorsuaq or North water polynya,” said ICC chair Okalik Eegeesiak last week. (FILE IMAGE)

Arctic leaders and organizations are welcoming a new report by Mary Simon, entitled “A New Shared Arctic Leadership Model,” which offers a series of recommendations to the federal government on how to shape sustainable and healthy northern communities.

Simon, named special advisor to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett last fall, made education, infrastructure and conservation the major focus of her more than 40 recommendations toward Ottawa’s Arctic Policy Framework.

Simon’s ideas on conservation in particular grabbed the attention of a number of groups, including the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada-led Pikialasorsuaq Commission, which has called for the biologically-rich North Water polynya between Canada and Greenland to become an Inuit-managed region.

Simon echoed that idea and recommended the region be recognized as an Indigenous Protected Area, a new conservation concept she has championed to allow Indigenous groups to self-manage regions of special interest.

“Conservation of Arctic marine regions is important for Inuit,” said ICC Chair Okalik Eegeesiak in a release, “and we welcome the recommendation in Ms. Simon’s report to accept the Pikialasorsuaq recommendation to create an Inuit led management area and monitoring regime for the entire Pikialasorsuaq or North water polynya.”

Simon went further and recommended the Pikialasorsuaq Commission be charged with developing that management plan.

World Wildlife Fund-Canada said Simon’s report offered “a strong way forward for conservation in the North,” noting her emphasis not only on Indigenous Protected Areas, but also funding for renewable energy, low-impact shipping corridors and more stringent climate change monitoring.

“The vision for the North captured in this report, with a healthy, educated population participating in a truly sustainable economy on a backbone of conservation, is one that government should embrace with a robust, well-funded implementation plan,” said WWF Canada President David Miller in an April 27 release.

“Canada’s North is a place where we still have the opportunity to get it right, and this report provides the path we need to get there.”

The Government of Nunavut voiced its support for some of Simon’s environmental recommendations, namely the North Water Polynya and the ongoing work to create a conservation area in Lancaster Sound.

But Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna said the territory also has a robust regulatory framework in place for conservation and wildlife protection.

“The concept behind the creation of Indigenous Protected Areas is already in place, and this recommendation may be redundant within the territory,” Taptuna said in an April 27 release.

That premier expressed the same sentiment for Simon’s endorsement of a standalone Arctic University.

After commissioning a feasibility study on launching a Nunavut-based university, the GN has opted to invest in beefing up programs through its Nunavut Arctic College, which already offers degree programs in nursing, education and, starting this fall, in law.

But Taptuna said Simon’s advocacy on those issues and that of infrastructure deficits in the North—from housing to roads to telecommunications networks—is important and appreciated.

“Overall, I believe the report contains good direction and insight into some of the issues we face in the Arctic,” Taptuna said.

“I hope many of her recommendations shape strong policy development and expedite addressing our basic infrastructure and social needs.”