Arctic resource development needs less talk, more communication: researcher

MONTREAL – While oil, gas and mineral exploration revs up across the Arctic, Inuit want to play a larger role in resource development, said Jessica Shadian, a senior researcher at Bodø University in Norway, speaking at this week’s Arctic in Transition conference in Montreal.

But all too often they’re left out of the loop, she said during an Oct. 4 conference session.

“While the Arctic is owned and governed by eight Arctic states, it’s also owned by the [Inuit] who call it home,” she said. “Their argument is that they’re the owners, they’re stakeholders. [So] should industry only be talking to the national governments?”

There’s frequently a “missing link” in the communication between governments, industry and local people in the Arctic, Shadian said.

The information that’s provided can be much too technical in nature, Shadian said.

This means, that although mining, mineral and oil companies must conduct assessment and impact studies, these often neglect the local residents’ questions and concerns, Shadian said.

“They want answers to simple questions like: how will our communities benefit? Consultation has become the norm, but it’s not enough,” she said.

Companies need to adopt a more collaborative and understandable approach when they start their dealings with the public, Shadian’s research suggests.

That’s because the lack of accessible information easily becomes a barrier to exchanges, although local people possess skills and knowledge which should be part of the debate, she said.

Her research shows some Inuit may even develop a kind of “inferiority complex” because they’re told they have no technical skills, while they actually have superior knowledge of their region.

“A lot of these people aren’t against development, but they want to profit, they want to be full partners,” Shadian said.

Inuit, through their land claims agreements, are well-consulted compared to other Aboriginal groups, she acknowledged.

“I would say that Inuit have been some of the most successful in terms of gaining rights and royalties, partly because they live in [developed] countries like Canada, the United States and Denmark,” she said. “Partly they’ve been fortunate, but I think they’ve also been savvy.”

At the same time, some Inuit have told her that they’ve been over-consulted: “they want to get on with their lives,” Shadian said.

Many participants at a recent conference in Greenland on oil and gas exploration complained about the lack of communication between their government, industry and locals – that’s in a place with the world’s most centralized Inuit power.

“It’s an ongoing internal debate in Greenland,” she said. “The question remains, how should Arctic resource development be governed?”

The perspective of Canadian Inuit communities should be also shared at conferences like Arctic in Transition, which focus on Arctic issues, one participant at the conference pointed out.

But the sole Inuk speaker at the conference, Makivik Corp. president Pita Aatami, cancelled at the last minute. Makivik lawyer Jean-François Arteau, who is also Aatami’s executive assistant, spoke in his place.

The Arctic in Transition conference wrapped up Oct. 4.