Nunavut Trust’s underperformance leaves NTI with $4M debt
Inuit organization calls for Trust to resume practice of reporting to NTI’s annual general meeting
Matt Binder, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. deputy chief financial officer, left, and NTI chief financial officer Gershom Moyo, right, present the Inuit organization’s audited financial statements on Oct. 22, the first day of NTI’s recent annual general meeting in Iqaluit. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
A $28-million shortfall in annual funding distributions from the Nunavut Trust to Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. has left the organization that represents Inuit beneficiaries in Nunavut owing the Trust more than $4 million.
Matt Binder, deputy chief financial officer for NTI, discussed the debt on Oct. 22 during the first day of NTI’s four-day annual general meeting in Iqaluit.
In August, after a directors’ meeting in Pond Inlet, NTI issued a news release expressing the board’s “disappointment” that funding from the Nunavut Trust had declined by $28 million — a 39 per cent decrease – for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
After that board meeting and before the annual general meeting, Nunatsiaq News tried multiple times to ask NTI to explain the impact of the Trust’s poor performance.
Despite the board’s commitment to “enhancing transparency and providing meaningful financial information to Inuit” in its August news release, those requests for information went unanswered.
The Trust’s most recent financial statements available online are for the year ending Dec. 31, 2022.
It is unclear what led to Nunavut Trust’s shortfall in NTI’s fiscal year, which ended in March 2024. Multiple requests to Nunavut Trust’s chief executive officer, including an in-person visit to the Trust’s office in Ottawa, went unanswered.
The Nunavut Trust was established as part of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, which was signed in principle in 1990.
As part of the agreement, the federal government agreed to provide approximately $1.1 billion in settlement payments over several years starting in 1993 to Inuit beneficiaries. The final payment was made in 2007.
That $1.1 billion was used to establish the Nunavut Trust. It has invested that money, and generates income from the investments.
The Trust disperses income from its investments annually to NTI, which then gives funds to the regional Inuit associations — Kivalliq Inuit Association, Qikiqtani Inuit Association, and Kitikmeot Inuit Association.
The Trust is governed by the board of trustees composed of two members from each of the regional Inuit associations. Day-to-day operations and management of the Trust is led by CEO Fern Elliot and a small staff who have an office in downtown Ottawa, its website says. The board of trustees also appoints an independent advisory committee to provide finance and investment expertise.
Before the Trust sends its annual payment to NTI, each year NTI makes a “consolidated funding request” in order to get money to help pay for its core operations in the coming year.
That consolidated funding request amount is calculated by taking the average total value of the Trust over the past 20 quarters — or five years — and multiplying that by four per cent. Then, that number is the consolidated funding request amount, Binder told Nunatsiaq News in an Oct. 24 interview.
The consolidated funding request covers NTI’s funding operations distribution to the regional Inuit associations from the Nunavut Trust, and pays for the bereavement travel program and the Inuit Heritage Trust.
The bereavement travel program provides financial assistance for air travel for up to two family members to attend the funeral of a family member in another Nunavut community.
The Inuit Heritage Trust is dedicated to preserving Inuit heritage, history and identity, its website says.
For the fiscal year 2023-24, NTI’s consolidated funding request was $72,777,935, Binder said.
That request is essentially an interest-free loan — or an advance — from the Nunavut Trust to NTI until NTI receives its annual payment from the Trust.
However, the Trust’s actual distribution to NTI for the 2023-24 fiscal year was $44,543,140 — a difference of more than $28 million.
The Nunavut Trust had a surplus of approximately $24 million in 2023. This has been applied against NTI’s $28 million debt to the Trust, leaving NTI still owing about $4 million.
The shortfall will not affect NTI or regional Inuit association operations and other fund recipients, because NTI already has the money, Binder said Tuesday.
Nunatsiaq News asked Binder how the outstanding $4 million would be paid.
“It [will] be carried as a capital loan and then applied against future surpluses,” Binder said.
On Oct. 24, the NTI board unanimously supported a resolution calling on the Nunavut Trust to resume “a long-running practice” of reporting to NTI at its AGM.
They were notably absent last week.
Sounds like the Trust did not do so well this year, at least NTI got a boat load of money from the feds for housing, training a couple of years ago, hundreds of million, I’m pretty sure they have a huge deferred revenue sitting in their bank account.
This NTI is not open or transparent at all, asking for financial information or other information you get the silent treatment from NTI. Even as a Nunavut beneficiary you can’t get a response from this current NTI.
I’m glad leadership is changing, some key senior staff will need to be changed too.
Totally agree with you Paul , the senior staff are very unfriendly and needs to go. NTI has become a secret closed society. I sure hope a new person has guts to remove the senior staff . There no transparency . This has been the worst unfriendly group including the elected ppl. They don’t have a clue what they are doing.
This was always going to be the result of giving so much power to a private entity.
When you appoint Barons, you should expect feudalism.
It’s one senior staff member who has too much authority, more power than the board, any board resolution if it doesn’t fit this staff member it doesn’t go through.
How this is set up and agreed to by the NTI I do not understand it, how can it work like that?
NTI has become a secret closed society. I sure hope a new person has guts to remove the senior staff . There no transparency . This has been the worst unfriendly group including the elected ppl. They don’t have a clue what they are doing.
I can see why she wont seek another term,
Sounds like some f*#k up at Nunavut Trust. The past few years have seen the biggest bull run in markets in history. Unless they invested heavily in the Corporate Bond market they should be cleaning up. If they did invest heavily in the Corporate Bond market, we should be asking why?
Notice the article doesn’t list the hedge fund managing the Trust, nor the Board members who oversaw this debacle.
Time to clean house. This is unacceptable.
Do away with indiscriminate travels; NTI and it’s hierarchy are addicted to international travels and Fairmont hotels… to at least two million this fiscal year alone.
Nunavut Trust invests globally and is not necessarily dependent on the markets as we know them.
It was more likely due to natural disasters and the uncertainty of various countries at war. The attempt by many western countries changing their relationships with Asia and northern Europe. The world markets have more than likely changed considerably in the last few years so there is much uncertainty.
NTI has also increased their spending in various ways for different reasons.
A billion dollars ? Wow..for 38000 ppl ? Enough money lost ! Give back a million bucks to each beneficiary ! You will see the good things in every community . What a waste for a government which was supposed to make posterity for its own ppl in the beganning
For context – $1 100 000 000.00/38 000 people would be $28 947.37/person, which isn’t a lot. Not suggesting that NTI couldn’t do better, just don’t want people getting excited about suddenly being millionaires
To give $1 million to 38,000, you would need $38 billion. Not $1 billion.
need to work on math.
38,000 x 1 million = 38 Billion
if that 1.1 billion was just paid out to everyone each person would get a one time $30,000. hopefully your not part of the Trust.
and that would also mean no money for future generations.
Where did you go to school?
Probably Nunavut…
That billion dollars was a one time payment, now our GN gets nearly 3 BILLION dollars every year, can you imagine how much that is per person?
For such a small population and nearly 3 BILLION dollars per year for the GN, why can’t we get nice things for Nunavut, say better power plants with all the issues we have with our electricity.
Humm…I wonder what could increase revenues to NTI. Humm…
I know RIOs President are earning at least 400K per years, isn’t that a bit too much for the amount of responsibility? That alone is an corruption.
That’s probably fine for a President, as long as they’re effective. But how many useless, inflated salaries are being paid to lawyers and consultants instead of people who actually do things?
I don’t mind paying someone well. Good work begets good pay, and vice versa. Get rid of the current Presidents and pay the new ones to cut overhead and run the organization right.
Who do you think the “people that actually do things” are? Might I suggest it is the lawyers and consultants?
How are they still employed? Does NTI do weekly, bi weekly and monthly checks of all of OUR investment portfolios?
Are they getting bonuses and of so it better be a big fat zero tip this year.
Nasty
Even 100K is good enough for me….
That is a lot of beneficiaries money and I’m guessing more of our beneficiaries don’t know where out money is going! Someone has to be accountable and I hope its audited and looked into!
Pathetic… but prob handed out bonuses.
I could invest better
My portfolio performed better this year.
Aluki, call me 📞
NTI President made so many lavish work trips and leaves the organization in shambles.
NTI loves legal action. It should sue itself. 🙂
Well it’s time to do some debate going ,
When will they be on call in show CBC and should be more than once for the debate show ,
Hope they will help a little better Inuit ask for !.
NTI member
The out going Prez protected them and the RIAs Prez let it happen by not letting the NTI Prez go.
CEO EA trying for Prez to keep status quo, other three candidates will hopefully make changes at NTI, it’s badly needed.