ITK president: Ottawa should recognize Inuit distinctiveness, restore cuts

ITK president Natan Obed Feb. 16 at the House of Commons standing committee on finance. (SCREEN CAPTURE)

Natan Obed, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, packed many demands into an eight-minute presentation to federal MPs Feb. 16, but his message boils down to three big ones: stop confusing Inuit with other Indigenous peoples, spend more on Arctic infrastructure, and restore funding recently cut from Inuit organizations.

“Inuit organizations have taken huge hits over the last decade… this war on our people and the way in which we try to help one another and try to represent ourselves to Canada and the world needs to end,” Obed said.

He made those remarks before the House of Commons standing committee on finance, which has been doing a rapid set of pre-budget consultations with a variety of groups.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau is expected to bring down the federal government’s 2016-17 budget by the end of March. It’s expected to include federal infrastructure spending of at least $120 billion over 10 years across the country, double the amount promised by the Conservatives.

Obed told MPs that organizations like ITK saw their core funding cut by up to 70 per cent in recent years, forcing the organization to look at fundraising and other sources of revenue.

But he said Inuit organizations need the money to “provide services at the community level and the regional level and represent ourselves at the national and international level.”

He also said that in the past, federal funding announcements in throne speeches, budget speeches and other communications are often confusing for Inuit organizations.

That’s because terms like “Indigenous” or “Aboriginal” or “First Nations” are used loosely, and it’s hard to tell if Inuit are, or are not, included in any specific program or funding announcement.

“Time and time again, we as Inuit find ourselves left out or only partially covered or covered in a way that does not reflect the realities in which we live,” Obed said.

He also said the previous government’s northern strategy excluded two important Inuit regions: Nunavik and Nunatsiavut.

So he said that when making announcements related to Indigenous peoples, the federal government should be honest about who is included and who isn’t.

“I believe Canada can do better in articulating what investments will be for Inuit, what investments will be for First Nations and what will be for Métis, or what will be Indigenous in scope,” he said.

On Arctic infrastructure, Obed repeated requests that other northern leaders have made, stressing the need for ports, alternatives to diesel-generated electricity and better telecommunications.

“The investment that Canada makes in Inuit communities helps build Canada. It helps build sovereignty but also allows economic development to happen,” Obed said.

And on social issues, Obed said he expects to hear announcements on three big policy areas: implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action, implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the creation of a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women.

“We will expect that the budget will include funding to implement those three very large and very comprehensive and very much needed different scopes of work,” he said.