The ITK presidential contest: Terry Audla

Terry Audla, the incumbent ITK president: “Change doesn’t happen quickly. It takes a few years. But we’re on the upswing and I see real positive changes coming.” (PHOTO BY JIM BELL

Nunatsiaq News will publish candidate profiles this week, in alphabetical order, for the three people contesting the president’s position at Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami: Terry Audla, Jerry Komaksiutiksak and Natan Obed. ITK members and delegates will choose a winner at a general meeting to be held Sept. 17 in Cambridge Bay.

OTTAWA — If there’s one lesson the incumbent president of Canada’s national Inuit organization has learned over the past three years, it’s this: to make things happen in Ottawa you need time.

And that’s why Terry Audla, 45, wants another stint doing the top job at Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and submitted the required 20 signatures with his written declaration of candidacy.

“Change doesn’t happen quickly. It takes a few years. But we’re on the upswing and I see real positive changes coming,” Audla said.

He won the president’s job in March 2012 at an ITK annual general meeting in Kuujjuaq after serving as CEO of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and working for many years at the Qikiqtani Inuit association, where he served as implementation co-ordinator, director of lands and executive director.

But once he took office at ITK, he discovered just how much time and energy it takes to get anything done in Ottawa when your organization has been battered by years of funding cuts.

Over the past decade, ITK lost close to half its funding — “a huge hit on the organization,” that means fewer staff and reduced programs.

“That’s a huge hit on the organization,” Audla said. “I’m confident in saying the organization is on an upswing. But prior to that the difficulty in letting go of good, dedicated employees was not easy.”

To fix that, Audla said ITK must diversify its sources of funding, saying they’re too dependent on one big paymaster: the federal government.

“I said that early on in my pitch to the board three years ago when I ran for the position, you have to diversify, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

Right now, the organization gets most of its money, roughly $6.5 million a year, from the federal government.

In its 2013-14 budget, there was about $500,000 worth of core funding available for general operations.

The other $6 million went to specific programs funded by departments such as Heritage Canada, Health Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, along with other third parties.

To reduce that dependence, Audla said ITK must attract more charitable donations from philanthropists. And to do that, ITK has hired a director of fund development, Jeffery McCully.

“ITK has never taken advantage of what, in my opinion, is an amazing marketable charity, which I think all Canadians feel very comfortable in supporting.”

And then there’s governance and the role of the president.

Since the late 1990s, ITK has been controlled by four people: the elected heads of Canada’s four regional land claim organizations.

Under By-Law No. 2, which serves as ITK’s constitution, it’s the four presidents, representing the organization’s four members, who pass the resolutions that set the organization’s direction.

That group of four member representatives also handpicks the delegates who gather at general meetings to choose ITK presidents.

At ITK’s general meeting in Cambridge Bay this Sept. 17, they’ll likely form a group of only 12 voting members and delegates.

And that raises this question: how much power and influence does an ITK president really have?

Audla said he’s learned that consensus building is one big part of that job.

“The influence is more in setting the agenda, in having prior discussion before setting the agenda, and then seeking the input from the board members as to where they want to see the specific agenda items brought forward.

“And then it is the four members who actually conduct the votes. Really, it’s the board members who do make those decisions. I’m there to build the consensus,” Audla said.

And that’s important, he said, because the four Inuit regions in Canada bring diverse priorities, interests and opinions to the table.

One example is offshore seismic testing and oil and gas development.

On one side of the Canadian Arctic, the Inuit of Clyde River are categorically opposed to marine seismic testing.

But in the west, the Inuvialuit have tolerated seismic testing for many years and have negotiated their own accommodations with the oil and gas industry.

“On the one hand you have the Inuvialuit who for the past few decades have had seismic testing and on the other coast, there’s the Inuit of Clyde River,” Audla said.

And bridging such differences takes tact and diplomacy — and a respect for the right to self-determination.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about self-determination. Somebody asked me if I support them [Clyde River]. Well I support their self-determination and I support the Inuvialuit for the same reasons.”

As for whether he thinks Greenpeace is exploiting the people of Clyde River, Audla said, “yes and no. Maybe Clyde River is exploiting Greenpeace.”

Another task that requires diplomatic skill is the management of ITK’s relationships with the federal government departments that provide the organization’s funding and set policies that affect Inuit.

“I try to keep doors open rather than having them closed. You need to work with those that are in power so that there is increased understanding. Yes, I wish I could yell and scream, but is that conducive to good dialogue?

“Behind closed doors at meetings with the responsible people in government, words are not necessarily held back, but in the open. You have to come across like you are willing to work with them,” he said.

As for language, Audla said he believes it’s still important for an ITK president to speak and comprehend English and Inuktitut, especially when explaining unfamiliar concepts to older Inuit.

“I feel it’s very important to have that. It’s a conceptual comprehension,” he said.

And then there’s the treacherous world of northern politics, where numerous high-profile figures have ended up on the scrap heal. Navigating that takes diplomacy too.

“I’ve seen so many high profile politicians become has-beens overnight. Inuit politics is very fickle in that way. Sometimes we are our own worst critics.”

ITK members and appointed delegates will choose a president Sept. 17 at a general meeting to be held in Cambridge Bay.

The other candidates are:

Jerry Komaksiutiksak, whose profile is available here.

Natan Obed, whose profile is available here.