Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the members of the committee.
As the chair mentioned, my name is Bill MacKay. I'm the director of intergovernmental relations for the Government of Nunavut. I'm appearing in response to an invitation to Premier Eva Aariak to appear in front of this committee to address Nunavut's interests and views on Canada's Arctic foreign policy. Although Premier Aariak sends her regrets, she would like to assure the committee that she's been following the study of Canada's Arctic foreign policy closely, and looks forward to the committee's report.
I'd like to take a few minutes this afternoon to outline Nunavut's role in shaping Canada's Arctic foreign policy and to explain to the committee the expectations Nunavut has for the part it might play in Canada's foreign policy in the future. In particular, I would like to address how the territories might play a role in Canada's chairmanship of the Arctic Council, which is coming up in 2013.
Nunavut's active participation in Arctic foreign affairs dates back to 1999, when the territory was created, but the role that territories should play in the circumpolar world was most effectively elucidated in the strategic document entitled A Northern Vision, which was released jointly by the three northern premiers in 2007.
My colleagues will probably discuss this as well, but just to give you an overall view of this, A Northern Vision included three themes that were important to the people who live in Canada's three territories: first, that sovereignty has a human dimension; second, that climate change is having an impact on the north; and finally and most importantly, in circumpolar relations it is key for Canada to speak with a northern voice. When Canada speaks internationally, it's important that it's speaking for the people who actually live in the north.
In 2010 Canada released its statement on Arctic foreign policy, and that resonates well with those themes. As you've heard from other witnesses to this committee, Canada's Arctic foreign policy statement is intended to project our national interests across all four pillars of the federal government's northern strategy, which I'm sure you've heard of from other witnesses as well.
Today I'd like to focus on Nunavut's interests in three key areas of this statement: exercising Canadian sovereignty, promoting economic and social development in a sustainable manner, and improving and devolving governance.
Mr. Chair, this committee has heard much about the role that international law might have in determining Canada's legal rights in the Arctic Ocean. We heard from Professor McDorman earlier today, and there have been several witnesses who have outlined what Canada's legal rights are over the Arctic Ocean.
I'm here to tell you that the Government of Nunavut strongly supports Canada's assertion that the waters within the baselines and closing the archipelago are part of Canada; as outlined in the Nunavut Act, they are in fact part of Nunavut. However, our focus in circumpolar foreign policy is very much centred on the other two key areas that I mentioned—promoting economic and social development, as well as improving and devolving governance.
This is reflected in our engagement with Canada on its plans for chairmanship of the Arctic Council. It is important to remember that Arctic governance is about more than legal rights over the Arctic Ocean. It is about ensuring that the people in the Arctic have a strong role in decision-making. This is why the Government of Nunavut has been committed to, for example, the implementation of land claims, in particular the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, and to devolving jurisdiction over land and resource management to territorial governments.
Indeed, it is our assertion that devolving responsibility over governance to the people in the north is a sovereign act in itself that can support Canada's legal claims in the Arctic.
We have also been closely involved in a number of Arctic Council initiatives to ensure that Canada continues to encourage a greater understanding of the human dimension of the Arctic to improve the lives of northerners with our Arctic Council partners.
The work that the council's been doing to address the challenges faced by Arctic communities as a result of increased shipping in the Arctic is also of great interest to Nunavut, given our geographic reality. In particular, we are very interested in any international cooperation that can occur with respect to search and rescue and oil-spill prevention and response.
However, our concern, which was addressed in more detail by my colleague earlier, is that the infrastructure has to be in place to implement these agreements—the agreement on oil-spill pollution response and the agreement on search and rescue. Consequently, our work with the Arctic Council is also focused on the infrastructure piece that they're developing.
Finally, I'd like to highlight the importance to the Government of Nunavut of the Arctic Council's work on climate change. This will also have important consequences for Nunavut.
These are some of the things the Government of Nunavut has been focused on in the Arctic Council recently. We hope to play a more active role in the Arctic Council as Canada takes the chair from 2013 to 2015.
As this committee heard from the federal government earlier on, in October 2012 the theme of the northern chairmanship was announced to be development for the people of the north.
In preparation for Canada's chairmanship of the Arctic Council, the northern premiers have been working together to participate more directly with the federal government in shaping Canada's approach to Arctic Council priorities. The Government of Nunavut has identified our initial thoughts on priorities that relate to the Canadian chairmanship theme and sub-theme, and these are oil-spill prevention and preparedness, which we've mentioned before; Arctic shipping and implementation of the Arctic marine shipping assessment, which you've heard about from other witnesses as well; and finally, a focus on suicide prevention among Arctic people. This priority is very important to Nunavut as our suicide rate is much higher than that of the rest of the country. Suicide is a problem across the circumpolar north, so we are committed to having this be one of the important initiatives of the Canadian chairmanship of the Arctic Council.
The Arctic Council remains the leading intergovernmental forum to discuss and advance the sustainable development of the Arctic. Therefore, the Government of Nunavut is committed to engaging the Government of Canada to ensure that discussions remain relevant to the people of the Arctic.
We look forward to the opportunity the Canadian chairmanship of the Arctic Council presents for Canada to showcase the Arctic to Canadians, our circumpolar neighbours, and the global community. We also look forward to working with our member of Parliament and the minister responsible for the Arctic Council, Leona Aglukkaq, to ensure that Canada continues to speak with a northern voice in its circumpolar relations.
We see this chairmanship as a great opportunity for Nunavummiut to have their voices heard internationally.
Mr. Chair, those are my opening remarks, and after my colleagues have spoken, I'd be happy to take questions from committee members.