Foreign Affairs Committee on March 26th, 2013

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

If we could have everyone come to the table, we'll try to get started.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and our study on Canada's Arctic foreign policy, we welcome our witnesses here today. We have Justin Ford, who is executive assistant, and Chris West, the director of the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association. Welcome, gentlemen. Thank you for taking the time to be here today.

We also have from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., or NTI, James Arreak, chief executive officer, and Terry Fenge, who is a consultant, executive services.

Hopefully at some point we'll have someone joining us from the Yukon Chamber of Commerce. That's being lined up right now, but I want to get started, because we have a number of witnesses.

I'm going to start with Mr. West and Mr. Ford. You have 10 minutes, so why don't we turn it over to you and we'll get started? Thank you very much.

[Chris West, Director, Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association]

Good morning.

My name is Chris West and I am one of the volunteer directors on the board of the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association. With me this morning is Justin Ford, who is responsible for projects. On behalf of NACA, we would like to thank you for the opportunity to present to you today and hope that you will find our presentation beneficial.

The Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association, also known as NACA, is a non-profit arts association that offers free membership to the artists of Nunavut. NACA was established in 1998 by the then Government of the Northwest Territories. NACA's mission, as the arts and crafts organization of the territory, is to promote the development and growth of the arts sector in the territory.

NACA receives core funding from the Government of Nunavut to assist artists and deliver programming related to the arts strategy in the territory. We work with partners from across the territory as well as the country to find and develop opportunities to advance the arts sector and to secure funds for a variety of projects, including artist projects, exhibitions, professional development and training opportunities, and marketing assistance.

The origins of Nunavut's mixed economy today are found in the unique and highly valued arts sector, which more than 50 years ago was used by Inuit, through the creation of small stone carvings as a means to transition into wage-based economic life in Canada. The production of this art depends on skills that have been passed from generation to generation and on the creativity that is a natural part of Inuit culture. Its distinctive design and representation of life in the harsh Arctic environment is recognized worldwide.

To support economic growth and continuing diversification in the arts economy in Nunavut, Sanaugait, a strategy for growth in Nunavut's arts and crafts sector, has been developed by the Government of Nunavut's Department of Economic Development and Transportation, in cooperation with artists, arts associations—including NACA—other territorial government departments, the federal government, Inuit organizations, cooperatives, and other private sector interests. The strategy lays out a framework for the work that is needed in the next five to seven years to ensure the arts in Nunavut grow and continue to play a prominent role in the economic life of the territory.

Seven goals were developed for the Sanaugait strategy including increasing the quality of Nunavut art; maximizing artists' profits through participation in the value-added chain; securing market share through protection of intellectual property rights; securing market share through international brand recognition; expanding international market share; providing current and accurate information about the arts sector; and promoting and celebrating the contribution of Nunavut arts to the global society.

As an organization, we focus on issues and concerns for artists across the territory that develop to larger problems and we attempt to come up with solutions. Nunavut is a vast, large geographical component of Canada, and that alone creates problems with accessibility to its 26 communities that are only accessible by plane. Travel is expensive to these remote communities, and shipping pieces of art for southern market opportunities, such as exhibitions or to buyers, proves to be quite an expensive undertaking.

Another issue is the topic of literacy and the high level required to understand and complete applications for grants or project contributions for projects, such as grants for artists to travel abroad to showcase their art. We are also working to inform agencies that translation of documents into Inuktitut is important to the growth of the arts sector in Nunavut so that artists may optimize their resources.

[Justin Ford, Project Manager, Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association]

Thanks, Chris.

As Chris stated earlier, I'm the executive assistant for Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association, and also in charge of developing projects.

I'm going to speak to the status of the economy of Nunavut in relation to the arts.

With a population of about 30,000—approximately 3,000 of whom claim to be full-time artists, with their main source of income created by the sale of their art—Nunavut is unique and unlike most provinces due to the high population of artists who choose to be artists for monetary purposes.

It has been said that Nunavut has the highest number of artists per capita than anywhere else in the world. The arts were next to mining in recent numbers released for the GDP of Nunavut. Because being an artist is part of a huge industry and a major source of income in Nunavut, it creates a huge impact when there are some noticeable negative changes in the Inuit art market.

One factor is the changes in demands regarding the quality, style, and uniqueness of each piece. Another factor is the economic downturn in the global economy that deters a lot of first-time buyers from entering the market due to less disposable income amounts.

We see one major contributing solution for these issues, and that would be to develop new niche markets abroad.

As to social and economic development, poverty reduction is a huge impact that we see in the territory. In some sense, the arts industry in Nunavut could be considered a trade that you learn from family and friends rather than what some may say is a calling. Not only does it allow for job creation, but it also raises the standard of living and becomes a reliable option of creating income for individuals who do not fit in the relatively recently established governmental system for reasons of lack of education, training, skill sets, or motivation.

As for creating sustainable economic growth in the sector, organizations like NACA and Nunavut Development Corporation provide opportunities of training and education for professional development and artistic development, while also creating awareness of artists' rights, such as copyright laws and knowledge of the developing artists resale rights campaign. Marketing initiatives and ongoing visibility by having a presence at meetings, conferences, and festivals of the arts sector on a community, territorial, national, and international level are necessary for the growth of the sector.

As a result of all of these economic development endeavours for the arts sector, there are some spinoff benefits, such as the tourism industry. Because so much of Inuit culture is submerged in the arts and traditions, this develops a unique cultural experience to see the Inuit culture to some extent preserved in the form of art.

International expansion is crucial to the growth of the Nunavut arts sector. Nunavut art is exotic and is known by most Canadians. The majority of Inuit art galleries are located in Canada. With times and the status of the economy changing, methods of marketing must be broadened to gain our potential. Nunavut art is healthy, but according to a recent discussion between NACA and other Inuit art wholesalers, it seems to be in a holding pattern, and therefore a new and a broader market development plan is required.

Outsourcing from Canada to artistic regions of the world, such as Europe, is one way of broadening the sales of Nunavut art and spiking the arts sector economy of Canada.

That said, NACA, in collaboration with Nunavut Development Corporation, has developed marketing trips to France, Switzerland, and the United States. The idea of these marketing trips is to bring international interest to Inuit culture and art.

For example, our trip to France showed that there is much more interest from first-time buyers of Inuit art than expected. Interest in Inuit art among the French, particularly Parisians, is well known and bolstered by documented attention to the art form by former French President Jacques Chirac. Additionally, in 2006 the Government of Nunavut hosted events with the French ambassador and dignitaries in both Iqaluit and Pangnirtung. At that time, both the French delegation and the Nunavut delegation made a commitment to work together on cultural events and other initiatives in the tourism sector.

With this initiative on our mind, we collaborated with a gallery in Paris that is an established dealer of Inuit art. They've been in the business for many years, and maintain a permanent mailing list of approximately 1,200 French and European clients. With a small brigade from Nunavut, including an artist demonstrating their talent, we put together an event celebrating Nunavut's culture and art. The results in sales were much greater than expected, with a gallery purchase of $30,500 in the two-day event from the wholesaler. To put this in perspective, the gallery had purchased $32,000 from the wholesaler in the 365 days prior to the event. The gallery reported very significant after the fact retail sales as a result of the advertised event and is purchasing additional art to support this interest.

We are working hard to create new, innovative initiatives to keep the momentum in this market. We recognize that strategic international investment and initiatives are required to keep these interests energized, and therefore insuring a sustainable future for thousands of Nunavut residents. Because the arts industry in Nunavut is a large contributor to the standard of living and the source of income for many residents, an investment in Inuit art is an investment in Nunavut's future.

In conclusion, as a representative of the artist population of Nunavut, NACA's position on this topic is to encourage support for artists, arts organizations, and arts enthusiasts to improve the visibility of Nunavut arts on an international level. International marketing and the exploration of new markets is a way that we can ensure the sustainability of the arts sector for the economy of Nunavut. The arts industry not only provides a source of income for many households in the territory but also is a very important part of the Inuit culture and their history.

We would like to thank you for your time and we'd be pleased to answer any questions. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you very much.

We're going to turn it over to Mr. Arreak, who is going to take the full 10 minutes.

[James Arreak, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Services, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.]

Ulaakut. Good morning.

My name is James Taqaugaq Arreak. I'm the chief executive officer of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., which I will refer to as NTI, the Inuit organization that implements the 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, which I'll call NLCA. The NLCA is a modern treaty protected under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Thank you for the invitation to appear this morning. I'm going to speak about the Inuit, Arctic sovereignty, and the NLCA.

As put forward carefully and thoughtfully in the April 2009 sovereignty declaration made by Inuit representatives from around the circumpolar world, sovereignty can carry multiple meanings in law and politics. Without detracting from that proposition, today I'll be speaking about Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic—that is, the sovereign rights of Canada as a whole.

Let me begin by saying that we have welcomed the personal interest of Prime Minister Harper in Arctic sovereignty over recent years. His annual trips to the Arctic have been appreciated. In the pursuit of all domestic and international Arctic policies, it's important that all Canadian political leaders give appropriate attention and weight to the status of Inuit as the aboriginal people of the Canadian Arctic and ensure that Inuit rights and well-being are effectively respected and served.

Notwithstanding the colonialism that marred the historic interaction of Inuit and the Canadian state, Inuit are proud Canadians. For years we have been holding up the Canadian flag over disputed waters of the Northwest Passage. Full and fair implementation of the NLCA must be part of our continuing to do so. In 2011, Minister Lawrence Cannon released the Government of Canada's statement of Canada's Arctic foreign policy. He said:

Canada's Arctic sovereignty is long-standing, well established and based on historic title, founded in part by the presence—since time immemorial—of Inuit people and other Indigenous peoples....

The NLCA was concluded 20 years earlier, and I'm quoting from its preamble:

...IN RECOGNITION of the contributions of Inuit to Canada's history, identity and sovereignty in the Arctic.

Article 15 of the NLCA adds:

Canada's sovereignty over the waters of the arctic archipelago is supported by Inuit use and occupancy;

Let me explain this a little bit. In the early 1970s Inuit hunters mapped where they went and what they did. These maps were aggregated and published by the Government of Canada in 1976. That's where the map I circulated comes from.

The important thing to note from this map is Inuit use and occupancy of Lancaster Sound, Barrow Strait, and the eastern portion of Viscount Melville Sound—the Northwest Passage. The Inuit contribution to Canada's Arctic sovereignty actually goes back many years. In the 1950s a number of families, about seven to eight, from Nunavik were relocated to the high Arctic in part to reinforce Canada's Arctic sovereignty.

In the early 1930s, the Government of Canada cited Inuit hunting as a reason for refusing Norway's request for special access to the Sverdrup Islands, visited 30 years earlier by Otto Sverdrup as a result of whose explorations Norway put forward some claims.

Faced with uninvited transits through the Northwest Passage by the U.S. tanker SS Manhattan, in 1970 Parliament passed the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act. This was an exercise in asserting Arctic sovereignty. This statute was justified in part by the Government of Canada to safeguard Inuit hunting.

Let's move forward to 1985, when Minister of External Affairs Joe Clark announced strait baselines around the islands of the Arctic Archipelago, a legal move to declare as internal to Canada all waters within the baselines.

Mr. Clark said:

Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic is indivisible. It embraces land, sea and ice. It extends without interruption to the seaward-facing coasts of the Arctic islands. These islands are joined and not divided by the waters between them. From time immemorial Canada's Inuit people have used and occupied the ice as they have used and occupied the land.

While they spoke 25 years apart, Lawrence Cannon and Joe Clark seem to have had the same briefing, interestingly enough. Certainly they both drew upon the map you have right now.

For the remainder of my time, I'm going to talk about the NLCA for sovereignty assertion purposes. At the present time the Government of Canada is not making full use of the NLCA because of its failure to implement the Nunavut agreement fairly and fully. It has, at least for the time being, impaired itself from making full use.

Let me give you three quick examples of opportunities missed.

One: in February 2006, we wrote to the Prime Minister suggesting how the NLCA could be used to support Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic. We recommended establishing the Nunavut Marine Council, which is covered in article 15, and the implementation of the general monitoring provisions, outlined in article 12. We focused on these articles because Canada's full sovereignty is in question only in the Northwest Passage, and knowing what's going on—that is, monitoring our territory—is required if we are to persuade others to accept our full sovereignty.

We assumed the Government of Canada would, as matter of urgency, work with Inuit. This has not been the case. Only after we went to court in 2006 have the general monitoring provisions of the NLCA begun to be implemented.

Example 2: in the summer of 2007, the Prime Minister said: “Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty over the Arctic.” He said, “We either use it or lose it.” Whatever its political appeal, this statement does not accurately reflect or respect the history or demography of the Arctic or relevant Canadian and international laws. As I said earlier, Inuit use and occupancy of the Arctic has been cited by the Government of Canada since the early thirties to support Canada's historic title to the Arctic and to negate the claims of other states.

Example 3: NTI initiated a lawsuit in 2006 to require the Government of Canada to live up to its obligations in the NLCA. As part of this ongoing lawsuit, in June 2012, Justice Earl Johnson of the Nunavut Court of Justice issued a summary judgment on the government's refusal to implement the general monitoring provisions. He characterized the attitude the Government of Canada as being indifferent toward the implementation of these provisions.

We ask the committee to take three recommendations to the Government of Canada.

First, the committee should recommend that the Government of Canada work with NTI to fully and fairly implement the NLCA, not only as a matter of public and private law and a responsibility to uphold the honour of the crown but also as part of its political and legal strategy to affirm and apply Canada's Arctic sovereignty.

NTI and the Government of Canada are required to negotiate the implementation of the NLCA for the next 10 years. These negotiations provide adequate funding to institutions of public government established through the NLCA to manage natural resources onshore and offshore.

The Government of Canada was obliged to appoint a federal negotiator in July 2012 to begin year-long negotiations toward the renewal of a new 10-year funding cycle beginning July 2013. Despite repeated requests from NTI, the federal government has failed to do so, in ongoing breach of this obligation.

In recommendation number 2, we recommend the full and effective implementation of the Nunavut Marine Council.

Lastly, we recommend full digitization of the maps in the 1976 Inuit land use and occupancy project, which you have in your hands. Currently gathering dust and mould in the National Archives, when digitized this information can be shared with countries yet to be convinced of Canada's full sovereignty over the Northwest Passage.

Qujannamiik. Thank you for your attention.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you very much.

We have someone joining us from the Yukon Chamber of Commerce. There was a challenge with timing: Ottawa time versus their time. We're going to start with our questions, and when our presenter comes from the Yukon chamber, we will turn it over to her.

I'm going to start with you, Mr. Bevington. We'll start with seven minutes, please.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Welcome to the witnesses. I appreciate your comments here on the issues surrounding the NLCA, in particular. However, I'm trying to put this into the context of the Arctic Council and international relations.

I think the Arctic sovereignty issue is extremely important. How that plays out internationally is of interest to me. From what you're proposing here, say, with the Nunavut Marine council, we know that to deal with ecosystems we're going to have to have relationships with other countries, international agreements on those types of things.

Could you explain how that Nunavut Marine Council would work internationally to promote not only Canada's sovereignty but also the care and protection of the resources?

[Dr. Terry Fenge, Consultant, Executive Services, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.]

The Nunavut Marine Council is referenced in the marine provisions of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. It provides an opportunity to bring together the institutions of public government that were established pursuant to the agreement, and for the Government of Canada and for the territorial government as well, if they wished, to partner and engage with the Nunavut Marine Council. It also provides for that council to address marine issues relating not just to sovereignty but all manner of issues. It would be a northern-based institution with a marine format that the Government of Canada could use to express the engagement and involvement of northerners in managing the northern marine environment. In that regard, it could be quite useful.

It's not going to be useful unless it adopts an extensive agenda. That agenda has yet to be developed because the council has not been established because the Government of Canada has felt for quite a few years and continues to feel unable to provide funding support to establish the council.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Without funding in place, the work then simply doesn't take place? We don't then have the ability to provide governance over our marine areas in a fashion that would give us some certainty over those areas, even if it may not match to the agreement. Is it just a vacuum there right now?

[Dr. Terry Fenge]

No, that is not what I'm suggesting. We have a wide variety of federal institutions particularly that have marine-based mandates—at least in part.

What we're suggesting here is that through the establishment of the Nunavut Marine Council there could be a very effective partnership between the Government of Canada institutions and those that were established pursuant to the land claims agreement.

It's important that you understand and appreciate that the federal agencies are themselves represented on those institutions of public government that I mentioned, which would be established as part of the Nunavut Marine Council. Let me suggest that this would be an almost unique opportunity to bring together federal interests, Nunavut interests, and Inuit interests into an institution that could effectively represent Canada's concerns and deal with Canada's concerns in the marine environment.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Changing gears a little bit, one of the issues that is before us on the Arctic Council is the funding of the permanent participants. I think the report that will likely come out of this study will have some kind of recommendation about that—how to enhance the role of the permanent participants on the Arctic Council.

Do you have any suggestions to us? Do you think the Arctic Council itself should be the funding agency and that the countries provide the funds to the Arctic Council so there is a coordination that way?

These are very important questions that we need your kind of input on.

[Dr. Terry Fenge]

I'll have a go at this.

You would appreciate, however, that NTI doesn't have an international mandate. The Inuit have given the international mandate to the Inuit Circumpolar Conference. I think you heard from the president of ICC Canada on the phone in one of your earlier sessions.

However, as some members of the committee know, I have done a great deal of circumpolar and international work, so I'll briefly try to give you a sense on this question.

Ever since the Arctic Council was founded in 1996, the issue of funding the permanent participants has been a live issue. The Government of Canada has been more helpful in this regard than most of the other states. This has to be said and has to be noted. The Department of Foreign Affairs has provided funding. Currently, it's about $125,000 a year to the three Canadian-based permanent participants. However, that is a drop in the ocean if they are to be efficient, effective, and do things.

A group of Canadian and American foundations recently funded a consultant, Mr. Bernard Funston, who also happens to be the chair of the Canadian Polar Commission, to prepare a report and suggestions regarding increased capacity building and funding for not just the Canadian permanent participants but all of them. I would hope the committee might have a look at that report and support the principles that are included within it.

I think the Government of Canada has yet to decide whether it is going to increase its support to the PPs. Certainly, from an NTI perspective, I think we would very much support that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you very much. That's all the time we have.

We're going to move over to Mr. Dechert, for seven minutes.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Thank you very much.

Thank you, gentlemen, for being here today and sharing this information with us.

I'd like to start with NTI and Mr. Arreak.

Mr. Arreak, you took us through the history of Inuit people, their contributions to Canadian history, and their support for Canada's land claims in the Arctic region.

Can you tell me how important you think it is that, for example, Minister Aglukkaq is Canada's chair of the Arctic Council, given her history from the region.

[James Arreak]

As far as sovereignty is concerned, I can speak from the perspective of our being family, because I know that as Inuit we're very fond of this nation. Even some of our leaders have said that we are “first Canadians”, or something like that, which demonstrates that you don't have to convince Inuit to be Canadian, because even though we may have our issues with Canada, the Inuit have really seen themselves as Canadian. They wear that proudly. That's something you can take to the bank pretty much.

As far as Aglukkaq playing the role of chair of ICC, I think that's a major benefit for the nation. You have somebody sitting on the throne that considers herself as “first Canadian” and Canadian first. Where can you go wrong with that kind of situation? I think it's a strength, a strong point for ICC and the nation.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Has the minister consulted with your organization in the past?

[James Arreak]

Off and on we've had some interactions with Minister Aglukkaq. She often comes north, so we have many different discussions going on, and one of them was the issue of ICC.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Thank you.

I'd like to ask a question of the Nunavut Arts and Craft Council.

First of all, though, thank you very much for your presentation on the importance of the arts community in the Arctic. I'm personally a fan of Inuit art. There's a store in Toronto at the Queen's Quay Terminal that sells art from that region. I've frequented that shop on many occasions. I hope anyone who hasn't had an opportunity to visit Toronto will go there. You'll see the most incredible art that you just don't see anywhere else in the world.

You mentioned the international markets for Inuit art and some of the things you're doing to help market the art outside of Canada. Could you tell us how you think increasing tourism will affect artists in the region? We all travel and when we travel we love to bring home a bit of the art and culture of the place we visit. As time goes on and tourism increases in the region, I think the appreciation of new art is going to expand around the world. Maybe you could talk about that and what you think needs to be in place to help support greater tourism and greater sales of Inuit art.

[Justin Ford]

As tourism is becoming a stronger and stronger industry in Nunavut, it definitely opens many doors for a lot more sales in Inuit art, particularly in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay, the hubs of Nunavut. A lot of sales are happening in the lobbies of the hotels, and in restaurants. There's not a lot of infrastructure right now for safe, accommodating places for artists to sell their work. There are little stores, but there's nothing for the actual artists themselves. For example, a safe place to work is really important right now. Carvers are outside in 40-below weather in harsh conditions, and they're carving with not the safest of equipment. It's rough.

We're working on getting some funding through CanNor for some studio spaces. We have some plans drafted up right now. We're in the preliminaries of getting the funding, going through with it and getting these places built. That's a huge issue. If this infrastructure is set up, the potential goes much further. There are going to be places that tourists can go to purchase the art rather than relying on the luck of the draw when they're walking through the hotel lobby or wherever. That definitely will make a huge impact.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Very good.

You mentioned that the arts community as a percentage of the total community in the north is one of the largest in the world.

Can you give us a rough estimate of how many people are employed in the industry?

[Justin Ford]

In Nunavut?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Yes.

[Justin Ford]

Supposedly, there are over 3,000. There are about 700 artists that we have registered as members. We consider them to be active artists, full time, and art is their main source of income.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Keep going.

Finish off.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

He's telling me to stop. You can keep going.

[Justin Ford]

They say it's over 3,000. They say most everyone is an artist in some sense.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

So that would be about 10% of the population?

[Justin Ford]

Yes, it's probably over 10%.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

That's incredible.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you very much.

I want to welcome Ms. Talarico from the Yukon Chamber of Commerce. We understand there was a misunderstanding about timing. We want to thank you for taking the time.

We'll give you an opportunity to give us your opening statement and then we'll continue with our line of questioning. How does that sound?

[Darielle Talarico, Chair, Yukon Chamber of Commerce]

It sounds good. Thanks. Sorry about that.

To begin, my name is Darielle Talarico. I live here in Whitehorse in the Yukon. At the moment I am the chair of the Yukon Chamber of Commerce. I'm also a board member of the Canadian Polar Commission, and, of course, like most northerners I'm on a whole bunch of other committees as well.

Just to follow the theme of what you're doing today, I have some quick thoughts that you may or may not have heard. What we find here in the Yukon, which crosses over into an international perspective, of course falls under the realm of energy and energy issues. Across the north we have an isolated grid electrical system here. We have issues with trying to supply enough affordable clean energy for industry in the Yukon. That has us talking with our neighbours the Alaskans quite a bit about the fact that they have access to hydro resources and other sources of energy. If we were connected to them through a grid system, we'd be able to share some of our resources. We have surplus hydro here in the Yukon in the summertime, and they need that electricity for the cruise ship industry they have coming up in the summer. There are some cross-synergies there that are being explored. That's in the electrical area.

I'm also a proponent—this is not foreign policy—of having a north-south transmission connection between the Yukon and Alberta or British Columbia. I think looking at that would bode well for Canada. That's something the Northwest Territories are looking at as well. That's an electrical area, but there's also the issue of energy in general.

Just like everybody else in Canada, we are dealing with the oil and gas industry and the various exploration and development needs, environmental assessments, and social and economic needs. I guess the best way to look at those is through sharing more best practices across circumpolar countries around these issues and to look at how we can share technology but also to think about transportation and about sharing those markets across the circumpolar north.

I've lived in the Yukon now since 1984, and being on the Canadian Polar Commission has brought me back in touch with the perspectives across Canada for issues in the north. When I say best practices, I'm also talking about empowering us in the north to be able to lead on these issues. I'm finding that there's somewhat of a southern tendency to lead these processes, when especially in the Yukon—where we're somewhat more developed around some of these issues having had devolution in place for a number of years now—there's a desire for us to be leading more and to be helping the rest of Canada understand what we're dealing with in the Yukon and across the north and to be sharing that with our sister territories. That's one thing we've done with the Yukon Chamber of Commerce. This has happened in the past, but we're trying again to get that conversation going among the three territorial chambers, to help us as territorial chambers to lead that conversation about what our shared interests are, and to look at solutions for that. I know the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has been involved with this issue as well and has been helping us with that. That deals with some of the issues around energy.

One thing that is also interesting to point out is that we do have a lot of conventional oil and gas in the Beaufort delta, which we're missing out on in terms of Canadian interests because it's stranded as well. We have a lot of issues of resources up here being stranded. Although there are hydraulic fracking issues and other shale gas plays, I think we can't forget about those Beaufort Sea resources.

There are transportation routes through either the Northwest Territories or the Yukon for those resources. Another key and important aspect of that is having first nations be partners in the development of any resources in the western Arctic and in the Yukon and also be partners in the development of any of the distribution or transportation needs associated with that. And I mean being real partners, not just benefiting through benefit agreements. We're looking at—and the chamber has been working hard at trying to develop and promote—true business partnerships.

Of course, we have transportation needs that are shared across the circumpolar north as well. In the Yukon in particular, we have a lot of roads, so we have a lot of issues with permafrost and our roads. At the Yukon College, we have been working towards looking at innovative ways of dealing with some of these issues, but again, that would be great to share in a circumpolar way.

Those are the three areas that I was thinking of talking about. Are there questions?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

That would be great. Here's what we'll do. We're going to resume. We had started a round of questions, and we're going to continue with the Liberals and Mr. Eyking. We'll just continue with the questions. They'll be given to all of the witnesses.

Thank you for your presentation.

Mr. Eyking, you have seven minutes.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Thank you, Chair.

I thank the witnesses for coming.

I might only have one shot at this and I want to get a question to each group, so if you can be “half short”, we can get in my three questions.

The first one is for Justin and Chris. There's no doubt about it: your artwork that you people do up north is beautiful and it's in high demand.

My question is about most of the resources that you use in your art. They're from plants and animals in the Arctic, I guess. As the climate changes, is that going to change your resource base? How connected is it to the rules and regulations from the south on how much harvesting you can do, whether it's polar bears or walruses? I don't have a grasp of exactly what products you use, but is there a challenge that you're going to be facing, and are you having a good dialogue with DFO and others about how you're going to obtain the resources you need for your artwork?

[Justin Ford]

I don't know if that's really going to affect the arts industry that much. Like you said, a lot of the resources they use for their art include quarrying for stone and that kind of stuff for the carvings and the sculptures. I guess one thing would be sealskin. A lot of sealskin is used for garments and in the arts and crafts sector, but I don't know if that will have a huge impact.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Okay. Most of the products you are using are in abundance, so it's not really an issue.

[Justin Ford]

For the most part, yes. They're mostly in abundance, yes.

[Chris West]

I think probably one thing worth noting would be international bans on sealskin. That certainly would be a factor.

As far as plants and animals go, as we seem to get more green in the north, we'll probably find more uses for the plants that will come. On the animals, like Justin said, traditionally the Inuit have hunted seal. They don't waste any of the seal they catch. What's not eaten is used for things like arts and crafts. I think that's important.

I think it's important also to bring the arts and the use of the resources to the fore. In the territory, we have a lot of stone, and stone is easy to get at. I think it's important that we understand how the arts relate to the culture, and the culture is based on the production of art through stonework and tapestries. I think that's important to note.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Thank you.

James, you mentioned the NLCA quite a bit. Are you a member of the NLCA? I take it you are.

[James Arreak]

Yes, absolutely.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

You mentioned how the government is not maximizing the use of the NLCA. Is that because your group would be able to help them more on your sovereignty issue? And what is your sovereignty issue? Is it that you're looking for more rights like the provinces have? I know that you alluded to the Northwest Passage and things like that, but what does it really mean when you say that the government is not maximizing the use of your group?

[James Arreak]

I can start and maybe—

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

I want you to leave time for a question for Whitehorse.

[James Arreak]

Sure.

With the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, we gave up our entitlements to the land in exchange for promises made by government—

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Way back?

[James Arreak]

—in 1993.

A couple of examples could be employment and the lack thereof right now, which translates into Inuit not being involved or productive. We interpret this as not implementing the promises the government has given, as outlined in NLCA. As a result, we interpret it as our not being a fruitful part of the Arctic sovereignty process or efforts, to put it in a nutshell.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Thank you very much.

I'm going to Whitehorse now.

You may be aware of what's happening in eastern Canada. We have a major project going on in the lower Churchill, the Muskrat Falls project. To a certain extent, it is creating a great opportunity for our electricity grid. It's going to go from Labrador to Newfoundland and to Nova Scotia.

Often people talk about the grids that are in southern Canada. Could you expand a little bit about the grid you're talking about? Is it from Alaska to the Yukon? What exactly are you looking at here?

[Darielle Talarico]

Are you talking to me?

I'm getting French translation here; I'm not getting English. I cannot understand; I'm sorry.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Chair, we're connected.

I want you to speak more about the grid that you're talking about. Where does it go right now, and what do you hope to see in the future with your electric grid?

[Darielle Talarico]

Right now, the transmission line is connected between Whitehorse up to Dawson City and to a few of the other communities in the Yukon. So inside the Yukon we have an integrated grid now, which just came into place within the last three years. We are short now in not having a connection to anything outside of the Yukon.

So we have a very vulnerable system. If there is any new industrial or commercial client, or even if a new subdivision comes onto the grid system here, we have a predicted shortfall of electricity, whereas if we were connected to Skagway, Alaska—a two-hour drive from here—we could be connected to Alaska's system. Or, if we could connect down to the Prince George area, we would make a connection to there, because the electricity has been coming up, and we could be going down.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

The federal government could invest or, as we did in eastern Canada, back a loan to help that grid system, because you need a lot of money to do that.

[Darielle Talarico]

Yes. People throw out the figure $2 billion all the time. The problem is that we don't even have a feasibility study that looks at the true costs, and we need to fight for that.

There are quite a few different groups in northern British Columbia—consortia of businesses, and first nations—that have been looking at this, because of course northern British Columbia requires electricity for the development of its mining industry as well.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

We're going to start our second round, which will be of five-minute turns.

Ms. Grewal, you have five minutes, please.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Thank you, Chair, and thank you to our witnesses today.

My question is for Ms. Talarico in Whitehorse.

Ms. Talarico, as the Canadian chairmanship approaches, we are to consider many upcoming issues concerning developments in the Arctic, such as the state of permanent observer applications submitted by China and the EU sector.

In your opinion, what could Canada, as leader of this council, make a priority for the development of the north, as an important example?

[Darielle Talarico]

That's a difficult question; it's very complicated.

Just to clarify, I'm appointed to the Canadian Polar Commission. We're a body appointed by the federal government, and we're separate from the Arctic Council, of course. Our mandate with the polar commission—and I understand that you have been briefed by our chairman—is to look at research priorities for the north and south poles from a Canadian perspective.

From that point of view, for the Arctic Council I think any increased dialogue amongst the circumpolar countries—and then of course the other countries that are interested in what's going on in the Arctic—is vital. Finding a way to find partnerships to include others is important, too. That's only going to build better relationships that will help us with our global economy, basically.

But it's not just the economy; it is also about the environment. It's a global environment now as well, as we're experiencing in the north with the impacts of changing whether and the changing ice patterns, especially in the Beaufort.

So cooperation and continued cooperation should be the priority.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Each one of our witnesses here today brings a unique insight into their communities and specialities within the north, and so this question is open to all of you who would like to respond.

The economic development of the northern people and the projected increase in commercial activity of our northern regions must be emphasized over the course of Canada's chairmanship. In your opinion, how are the northern communities currently developing, and how can they benefit from the increased national and international interest in their region?

[James Arreak]

Thank you for that question.

One of the key and emerging areas in the north is the development of mining potential in the north, and that's an exciting area.The socio-economic transition that needs to take place right now with our people must fill a huge gap. This is where we need to engage the government, to help us prepare meaningfully and properly and position ourselves so that we can take advantage of the opportunities that come with mineral development.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Do you feel that there is national support in the areas of sustainable development and strong respect for the peoples and the land of the Canadian north? How can this be further demonstrated?

[Chris West]

I think as far as developing the natural resources of the north is concerned, it will be important for people who want to do business in the north to understand the culture and develop an appreciation of the land, through the beneficiaries and through the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. I think it's important that people understand how that all works before we feel that we go in and tear the land apart and leave.

On an international level as well, through the Arctic Council, I think we'll get more interest from other countries in the north. I hope that when the Arctic Council is considering new observers to the council, it keep in mind that those observers should be Canada-friendly people.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you very much. We're going to move over to Madame Laverdière for five minutes.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all of you for your very interesting presentations.

Here is one quick question. I was interested in what you were saying about art and about its being good for the economy, but it's also very good for individuals who may not fit into other situations. I think it's also good for Canada, because when you're selling your art abroad and when you go abroad, you carry such a positive image of Canada. We have a few grants in Canada, and this may be our most positive grant.

We hear more and more that, with cuts being made to DFAIT, with the move away from that we call “people to people diplomacy”, it is more and more difficult to get money and to be supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs to go abroad and exhibit and showcase your art.

Could you quickly comment on that, if possible?

[Justin Ford]

Certainly as an organization we are currently only getting approximately $30,000 a year for the international marketing of art. There definitely are programs out there and applications for them go out, and whether or not they get approved, there is still not a lot put out there—not to the extent that we need to see it to make a difference and to get our art out across the world.

With DFAIT gone, I know there are a few exhibitions from Nunavut that previously travelled the world but are no longer doing so because there's no money for them. Wherever these exhibitions go they're exotic. We may not understand that here, or especially in Nunavut, but it is an exotic art form that people love to see. So there's definitely a need for it.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Mr. Bevington.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

This is the last session that we're going to have on this before we issue our report. To me it's coming down to a question of what we need to accomplish on the international level at the Arctic Council.

Is the situation with the changing Arctic reason enough for us to focus on the issues that are developing around fishing, shipping, the environment, and setting out international agreements so that we can control what's happening in a rapidly opening Arctic Ocean? Or should we be pressing for economic development right now, prior to these types of international agreements being set up that can guarantee that we're operating across the global Arctic on a level playing field? What's NTI's position on that?

[Dr. Terry Fenge]

You're asking big questions. Let me try to give you at least a couple of concrete suggestions for your staff to reference in forthcoming reports.

I spent a week in Singapore last year with a delegation from a number of the permanent participants, and we had supper with the Singaporean Minister of Foreign Affairs. We asked why he was applying for observer status in the Arctic Council. He gave us a long, convoluted answer, and we said that we knew they were a major shipping nation, with shipping repair, etc., that we were very concerned about future shipping in the Arctic, and were supporting Canada's complete sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Northwest Passage for a reason.

We don't want to see rust buckets coming through. What we want to see is full and assertive and robust implementation of strong Canadian regulations rather than enforcement of weak international regulations.

So we indicated to him that there was a reason that we were taking this position on Canadian sovereignty. Then we said to him that they're operating in London in the International Maritime Organization, as they're a major flag state. The flag states will not accept the mandatory proposed polar code, the stringent environmental aspects of that polar code. We asked him, could you help us?

So that's an example of indigenous peoples doing foreign affairs.

We would suggest to you, through you, Mr. Chair, that it would be most helpful if any report or recommendations this committee makes urges Canada to take a strong line with other Arctic states and the IMO negotiations in London, England.

May I quickly give you a second recommendation?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Very quickly.

[Dr. Terry Fenge]

Climate change is a huge issue. I'm not going to belabour the point, but there was a major opportunity during Canada's two-year chairmanship to make solid progress on short-lived climate forces.

Some of your previous witnesses have discussed this. However, the Arctic Council ministers will consider in May the option of whether to commit themselves to negotiate some sort of legally binding agreement among the Arctic states to reduce emissions of black carbon. It's an entirely open question, so it would be most helpful if you brought forward some recommendations on that.

Both of those recommendations I've made would ease and assist us and the Government of Canada in implementing the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you.

We're going to finish off with Ms. Brown and Mr. Van Kesteren for five minutes.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

First of all, I have one question that's very selfish, Mr. West and Mr. Ford. I'm a musician. You've spoken about the visual arts, but you haven't spoken about the aural arts at all. I wonder if there is any room for music in the whole aspect of creativity in the north.

The one thing I do want to put out here as well is that I believe in free market economics. I would suggest that if there is demand for the art that is being made in the north—I'm an owner, I'm a purchaser—why is there not somebody who is taking up this opportunity?

My question to Darielle is, are there people in the chambers of commerce who are looking at making this part of their business and seeing an opportunity there to make money?

I'll put the questions out first.

Mr. Arreak, you spoke specifically in your recommendations of digitization of the maps. You gave us a map that was produced, I think you said, in 1976. Why is it so important that these ones be digitized? I read an article in Saturday's Globe and Mail about mapping of the Arctic. There's a picture there of a fellow with big gear on his head, and he's out walking the lines. Is the Arctic being mapped, from a digital perspective, in a new way? Why these maps in particular?

Sorry, I'll leave that. I hope you have time.

[Chris West]

Thank you for your question.

[Darielle Talarico]

Do you want the arts first?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Yes, we'll do the arts first. Go ahead. Why don't we start with Ms. Talarico and then we'll come over to Mr. West afterward?

Go ahead, Ms. Talarico.

[Darielle Talarico]

Again, the north is a very diverse place, and so Nunavut is very different from the Yukon. Just in the Yukon, yes, I think there's lots of development, lots of business opportunities associated with arts and culture, but it has come with a great investment by the Yukon government. The Yukon government has put a lot of money into every form of the arts: music, writing, visual arts, performing arts. We have an arts centre here and we just celebrated its 20th anniversary. I think we have the highest per capita funding for arts in Canada. We are very active.

The Yukon Chamber of Commerce actually supports the arts through a branding program. They can come into our office and pick up all the bags, the brands, the tags, everything for promoting and marketing, and retailing their art products for the visual arts and music. Our Yukon government provides money for exporting our artists around the world as well. We have a lot of autonomy here, in terms of the Yukon government supporting the arts.

Actually, it's complemented by the federal government and the funding programs they have through CanNor. Again, this gets back to sharing, and best practices, and the idea of working with Nunavut. We have people here who could share what they have learned and what they are doing, both in business and as artists, with others across the north. I'd love to see more of that happen.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Mr. West.

[Chris West]

Thank you for the question.

First of all, the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association looks after the visual arts side. There is another component that looks after the music side. Iqaluit hosts the Alianait Arts Festival each year, which promotes the music of the territory, and they have been doing so for quite a while now.

If I may, I am also the executive director of the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce. Throughout the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce we support the arts and the artists in a number of ways, like my volunteering to be on the NACA board. We also host trade shows where we offer artists reduced fees to show their art at the trade show, be it visual or music.

Nunavut has a rich culture of throat singing. Anybody who's travelled through the north would appreciate singing without instruments. So there are a lot of unique things there. I'm sure as time goes by they're developing more and more now.

I hope that answers your question.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you. Does Mr. Arreak have time to respond?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Mr. Arreak, a quick response, please.

[James Arreak]

Thank you for the question.

Digitizing would give us the ability to communicate our baseline data not only with stakeholders like yourselves but also with other nations, to demonstrate that we were here and that we use this land. Some really good work, produced in about 1972–1973, has become the baseline information. It has helped us move forward with a lot of these things, as evidence that we use this land and that Inuit have a role to play in Arctic sovereignty.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Okay. We don't have a lot of committee business. Before we start with Mr. Van Kesteren, does anyone else have any additional questions?

Dave, do you have a quick question?

Is that all right with our guests?

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

Thank you, guests, for coming.

Mr. Arreak, I appreciate what you said about the Inuit and their affiliation to Canadians. Coming from a European background, we have the same affiliation. You must know that too, when we think about your people in the north. That's just a great picture of Canada you gave. So I really appreciate what you said.

I have a quick question. When I visited Iqaluit back in 2007 or 2006, I bought some stonework art and I have some art hanging in my office. A thought occurred to me at that time: what kind of guarantees or what kinds of things are you putting in place to ensure that you don't see forgeries? I watched some of them working there and I saw some of the power tools being used. What is stopping the Chinese, for instance, from saying “Hey, there's a market here. We're going to start cranking this stuff out”. What have you done to guard against that?

[Justin Ford]

There's already set in place a tag called the Igloo Tag, which authenticates Inuit art made by Inuit. Also, the Government of Nunavut is currently developing a tag called the Nunavut brand. It's a tag that would be on all pieces of art and it would be registered online. Therefore, anybody who purchases a piece of Inuit art would have a reference to the artist’s biography, what year it was made, what it's made of—and it would be registered online so it can be referenced at later dates.

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

That's great. I think that will help us to guard against other nations trying to steal your art. But what if the people in the north themselves started mass producing it? Have you talked about that?

[Justin Ford]

I don't think there's really the infrastructure to do that in a mass sense. One of the biggest issues is, for example, sealskin garments. There are lots of ties and vests and things like that. There's a huge demand for them. But, honestly speaking, the artists can't keep up with the amount required.

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

Do you have any standards, for instance, on not using power tools or only this type of power tool, etc.?

[Justin Ford]

No, there are no standards set as far as that goes. It's up to the artists.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Mr. West, do you have a quick comment?

[Chris West]

I might add that power tools are not normal pieces of equipment used in producing art. We've probably seen the use of power tools in the last 20 years. Traditionally, everything is done by hand with files. The unique thing about the art of the north is that 99.9 chances out of 100, you will not see another tie exactly like this here. Every piece is unique; every piece is handmade. That protects the artist as well. It's important for anybody ever thinking about purchasing Inuit art or wondering if it's Inuit art to remember that if there are 25 of them on the shelf and they all look the same, it's not Canadian.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

To all our of our witnesses, thank you very much for being here today. We want to thank you, Ms. Talarico, from the Yukon Chamber of Commerce for being able to join us, and our guests here as well.

With that, I'm going to suspend the meeting.

We're going in camera so that we can look at some committee business.

[Proceedings continue in camera]