Foreign Affairs committee  Obviously, in the Government of Nunavut, we welcome the engagement that Minister Aglukkaq undertook by having her round tables in the north. She also consulted closely with our premier and members of the legislature, so all of the stakeholders had a chance to share their views. We think that the plans of the chair, at least so far as they have been rolled out, reflect a lot of the concerns and interests raised by people—at least in Nunavut.

Foreign Affairs committee  I don't know the exact numbers, but I can tell you that there is a greater reliance on slower forms of Internet. There is a fairly high access to the Internet, but the actual technology is not as good as it is in the south. For a lot of people, the speed of access is not as good as it could be, so that's a priority for our government.

Foreign Affairs committee  I guess I would just point to the specific projects that the Arctic Council, at least at this point, has in mind. There's the short-lived climate forcers instrument being proposed, which will reduce the amount of carbon going into the atmosphere. I think Canada is probably going to be a leader in pushing for that instrument.

Foreign Affairs committee  From the Government of Nunavut's point of view, obviously we support the participation of the permanent participants in the Arctic Council. That was a key part of the foundation—

Foreign Affairs committee  Also we support the declarations that the ICC has made with respect to resource development in the north. That being said, support should also come with some sort of financial support from the federal government. That would be ideal. It's not our decision to make, but we would like to find some solutions so that the permanent participants can make a full contribution to the Arctic Council.

Foreign Affairs committee  There already are interactions between different chambers of commerce in the north on best practices in business development in the north, given the region's particular, unique nature. The more formal structure would probably be useful. From Nunavut's point of view, we do share best business practices with, for example, Greenland.

Foreign Affairs committee  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.