Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
In the absence of time, I would like this brief to be given in its entirety.
My name is Adamie Alaku. I am an Innu person from northern Quebec. We are referred to as Inuit. I am here with my colleagues Nancy Maloley, the treasurer of the Kativik Regional Government, which is also an ethnic body in northern Quebec; and Eileen Klinkig, who heads the construction division and who also started the income tax project in the region, as we don't know how to fill out income tax forms and the like.
I'll provide some background on Makivik Corporation and the Kativik Regional Government. They were created in 1978 under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, the first modern treaty. It was signed in 1975 by the Inuit of Quebec, the James Bay Cree, the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec, Hydro-Québec, and la Société d’énergie de la Baie James. We have used this as a pivotal tool for economic and social development for the last thirty years.
During the negotiations for this treaty, the Inuit opted to have it fall under federal-based governance as opposed to being on a reserve. So we are regular taxpaying citizens of Canada, paying to both the federal and the provincial governments, which causes a huge burden because of the high cost of living in the region.
The Makivik Corporation takes care of the interests and the rights of the Inuit of Nunavik--social, political or economic--with the help of the other ethnic institutions in our region, like the school board and the health board.
The corporation's board is composed of 21 members--16 elected locally by the respective communities, five elected by the Inuit of Nunavik. The head office is in Kuujjuaq, and we have offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, and two Inuit communities of Kuujjuaraapik and Inukjuak. It employs close to 90 personnel.
The Kativik Regional Government is the municipal arm of the region. It is represented by 16 members, including the band council chief of Kawawachikamach. It employs close to 500 people, of which 300 are Inuit. They work in 11 departments , including municipal affairs, transportation, policing, child care services, and employment.
This causes quite a cost burden, since Nunavik is not road-connected. The 14 communities are not interconnected. The closest community is about 1,500 kilometres from Montreal. All the goods and services have to be provided by air transportation. We have a 12-week window in maritime shipping, which allows construction and bulk supplies to come in.
The income tax right to a northern residence deduction, which was brought into effect in 1990, hasn't been addressed since that time, so this has caused a burden also. The goods and services tax, which we know will not be abolished, is also a burden in our region.