Deal passed by parliament, to become law by June

KUUJJUAQ – Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a brief visit to Kuujjuaq March 28, delivered welcome news to Inuit leaders: the Nunavik Inuit Land Claims agreement will become law in May or June.

Harper called the deal, which settles Nunavik's offshore claims, a "big step forward for social and economic development in this region."

"Still ahead is the final step in this process, regional self-government for Nunavik," Harper told an audience gathered at the Kaittitavik community centre, saying his government is committed to seeing Nunavik achieve more autonomy.

Harper also said, inaccurately, that he was the first sitting prime minister to visit Kuujjuaq.

"I'm told this is the first time a sitting prime minister has been in Kuujjuaq," he said.

However, at least three sitting prime ministers, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Brian Mulroney and Jean Chrétien, haved visited Kuujjuaq, though their visits were marked by less fanfare and lighter security.

Despite Harper's gaffe, instantly noted by Nunavimmiut in the audience, his quick Nunavik junket may give him something no other federal leader has scored so far: an island bearing his name.

Pita Aatami, the president of Makivik Corp., invited Harper for a return visit, suggesting he return when Nunavik starts naming islands that now fall under the region's jurisdiction.

"We can officially start naming the islands to what we want to name them because a lot of these islands don't have any names," Aatami told Harper. "So don't be surprised if there's an island called Harper Island."

Harper, who was accompanied by Chuck Strahl, the minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, gave Aatami the flag that flew over the parliament's Peace Tower on Feb. 14, the day the land-claims bill received royal assent, as well as a signed, leather-bound copy of the agreement.

Harper described the agreement as "a tribute to the patience and tenacity" of Nunavimmiut.

"It took 30 years to bring it to fruition, but this historic milestone hails the dawn of a new era for the Nunavimmiut," he said. "By resolving the issues of land and resource ownership and usage rights, the agreement creates a stable environment for investment and development that will mean new jobs and business opportunities for people throughout this region."

The offshore deal settles ownership rights and use of land and resources, providing Nunavimmiut ownership over 80 per cent of all the offshore islands, with both surface and subsurface rights, in what's called the "Nunavik Marine Region."

The NILCA creates co-management bodies, too, such as the Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Management Board.

The NILCA entrenches Nunavik aboriginal fishing rights in the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, and establishes the Torngat National Park Reserve in Labrador.

The NILCA also offers Makivik about $39.8 million for implementation. Another $54.8 million goes to a trust, which will make cash payouts to beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec agreement.

Also on Harper's agenda in Kuujjuaq was the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the community's new $15-million air terminal.

Kuujjuaq mayor Larry Watt and Mary Duncan, a retired Kativik Regional Government worker who cleaned the old terminal for more than 25 years, held up the two ends of the ribbon as Harper sliced through it with a knife.

Speaking inside terminal's airy waiting room, Harper called the terminal the "greenest" in Canada.

The terminal, which opened to the public in January, has already won national awards for its energy-efficient construction, which incorporates recycled building materials, solar panels and waterless urinals in the men's rooms.

Opening the airport was the last event on Harper's brief visit, which included a visit to Kuujjuaq's arena and a face-to-face chat with Joé Juneau, the former Canadian Olympian and National ­Hockey League star.

Juneau moved to Kuujjuaq last year to run Nunavik's hockey program that encourages kids to stay in school and away from crime.

Juneau and Harper discussed bringing this program to other regions in Canada.

"I commend Joé Juneau for his work with Inuit youth," Harper told journalists following their get-together. "His personal record of athletic and academic achievement is an inspiration to young Canadians everywhere."