Benefits deal means little without federal money

Don’t get too excited about the economic benefits territorial parks are supposed to offer Nunavummiut — it’s doubtful anyone will profit from these any time soon.

Last week, Nunavut and Inuit organizations finally signed an Inuit Impact and Benefits Agreement for territorial parks.

“This agreement comes after long and sometimes difficult negotiations,” Premier Paul Okalik said at the IIBA’s signing ceremony in Iqaluit. “Too often, it seems that there is a focus on specific issues of contention that overshadow our overall positive relations.”

But now that the IIBA is signed, the difficult negotiations aren’t over. In fact, the real tough talk is just beginning.

That’s because this IIBA will need federal money if it’s going to deliver on many of its promised benefits — because the GN isn’t ready or able to foot the bill.

“It’s a visioning document,” said David Monteith, Nunavut’s director of parks and tourism. “It contains everything we’d like to see captured in a park program, recognizing though that there are funding limitations. The worst thing we can do is start dipping into the existing government budgets to all these extra things. We’re just shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Ottawa may or may not be willing to hand over the money the GN doesn’t have.

Although the IIBA is a legally binding agreement, it’s not part of the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement. This means Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. has to dicker with the federal government for some extra cash.

NTI and the federal government are already in negotiation on a contract to spell out how much Ottawa will pay from 2003 to 2013 to implement its existing obligations in the land claim.

But sources close to the negotiating table say the parties are still very far apart on how much money is needed.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake. Funding for the territorial parks IIBA needs to be defined in the updated contract. We hope the Government of Canada appreciates this fact,” NTI president Cathy Towtongie said at the IIBA’s signing ceremony.

Money will be necessary to breathe life into many of the 17 sections of the 104-page IIBA that are chock full of economic promises for Inuit involvement and participation in Nunavut’s park network.

The IIBA applies to four territorial parks in the Baffin region, and one in the Kivalliq region that were established before ratification of Nunavut’s land claim. It also applies to three proposed parks in the Baffin region, two in the Kitikmeot region, and one in the Kivalliq.

“The IIBA isn’t all money,” Monteith said. “There is a lot of defining process, such as if you’re going to go research you must hire an Inuk to go with you.”

The IIBA formalizes the role of Inuit in joint park management and planning with the creation of two new boards — a Nunavut-wide parks committee that will also have GN representation and a local community-based committee.

Nunavut’s territorial parks, with the exception of Katannilik Park, are modest recreational areas. Like Iqaluit’s Sylvia Grinnell Park, the parks are located close to communities and lack the tourist “destination” potential of national park sites.

Nunavut Tourism doesn’t even set aside any special money to promote the territorial parks.

But Monteith said this may also change as the GN, Inuit organizations and communities look at how to bolster and benefit from the parks network in Nunavut.