New Nunavut economic forum born this week

Members of Nunavut’s political and bureaucratic elite gathered in Iqaluit this week to create a new body called the “Nunavut Economic Forum,” whose aim is to implement the economic development strategy that Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Government of Nunavut released last year.

“I have high hopes for it and I hope it manages itself well and that it gives us new initiatives for the economic issues that we want to deal with in Nunavut,” said Paul Kaludjak, the president of NTI.

NTI, along with the GN, is a major player in the development of the economic forum.

It’s built on an earlier body called the “Sivummut Economic Development Strategy Group,” also known by the acronym “SEDS.” The Sivummut group did the work that led to Nunavut’s first economic strategy, set out in an 80-page document released in September of 2003.

The same coalition of nearly 40 organizations — representing Inuit organizations, chambers of commerce, the Nunavut Association of Municipalities, industry associations, labour, and government — form the backbone of the Nunavut Economic Forum.

At their gathering this week in Iqaluit’s Frobisher Inn, they agreed to organize themselves as a society and chose 10 directors. Eight are “voting” directors, while the remaining two, who represent the federal government, will sit on the board but aren’t allowed to vote.

The economic forum’s board met behind closed doors this past Tuesday afternoon to elect officers.

Monica Ell will serve as president, George Bohlender will serve as vice-president, Doug Workman will serve as secretary, and Tania Scott will serve as treasurer.

“We all want to make Nunavut the next economic powerhouse in Canada,” Ell said in a news release issued this week.

Kaludjak said at one of the economic forum’s biggest priorities will be to press for a Canada-Nunavut economic development agreement, or “EDA.”

“We need to get that, and I’m sure that’s going to be a priority for them,” Kaludjak said.

In December of 2002, the Sivummut group gave the federal government a proposal for a $66-million, five-year EDA. The money would be spent on priority areas outlined in last year’s economic strategy document.

The economic forum’s aims also include research, the sharing of information among members, coordinating economic development activities, increasing the participation of Inuit in Nunavut’s economy, and increasing the participation of communities in Nunavut’s economy.