Thank you, Chair. Good morning, everybody.
Unfortunately, the minister, the Honourable Peter Taptuna, is not available. He ran into weather problems on his trip here from Yellowknife yesterday, so he hasn't arrived. Unfortunately, we didn't find that out until about 4:30 yesterday afternoon, so we have not had time to change the speech or have it retranslated. With your permission, I'll read his speech.
On behalf of the Government of Nunavut, welcome to our land and to our capital city. We're honoured by your presence here, and because you have chosen to come here, to listen and to learn, you've earned our respect and high regard. I know your time here with us, though brief, will be illuminating and will bring you new perspectives, not only on who we are here in Nunavut, about our dreams and our hopes for the future, but on who you are, as our fellow Canadians.
Today you're in one of the most exciting and dynamic parts of the country. You're in a place where the future of this country will be defined. It may feel to you that you've travelled a long way and that you're far from home, but I want to say to you that here in Nunavut you are at home. You're in a place where your future will be determined, just as it will be determined for those of us for whom this land is the home of our ancestors, and as it will be for our children and our children's children.
This is my basic message to you today. If Canadians are to fulfill their northern destiny, then Canadians must ensure that it is possible for Nunavummiut—those of us who make this part of Canada our home—to maintain a high and sustainable quality of life. If we cannot achieve this, I'm concerned not only for the future of Nunavut but for the future of this country.
I'm proud to say that Kugluktuk, the community on the Arctic Ocean on the far west of Nunavut, where I live, is where my children live, as do their children, but I fear this situation will have to change because the cost of living in our community is too high and the ability of my grandchildren to live as other Canadians do is becoming increasingly difficult. So they will make a choice between a poorer standard of living in their community here in Nunavut and a higher standard of living they can have by moving to southern Canada. When young people leave, it puts our communities at risk. This is not good for Nunavut, and it's at a time when climate change, northern sovereignty, and national security are issues for all Canadians. This is not good for Canada.
It is our people, and in particular our dynamic young people, who represent Canada's strongest claim to sovereignty in the Arctic. They cannot leave. They must be able to find a livelihood here.
So what is it that Canada can do? There's not enough time allowed to us this morning to provide even a list of what needs to be done. Let me sum it up in this way. For more than 140 years, Ottawa has built Canada from east to west. Now Ottawa must build north. It is the destiny of all Canadians to take full possession of all this land has to offer, but the old models of development will not work. This land is vast, but it's not empty. You have partners here, fellow Canadians who have shared this land for thousands of years. When we created Nunavut just 10 years ago, Inuit made a clear statement that we are ready to take responsibility for the development of the north on behalf of all Canadians. We know that if we can create here a high and sustainable quality of life for ourselves, this is also the key to securing a high and sustainable quality of life for all Canadians, whether they live in the east, the west, or the north.
How, then, should development proceed, and what is the federal government role to be? First, the old pattern of excluding Inuit from decisions that impact on our well-being and our way of life must end forever. Ottawa must come to the negotiating table and devolve control of this land and its resources to the Canadians who live here, as has been done in every province.
If you withhold this from us and continue to try to control development in the north from Ottawa, our people cannot fulfill our historic role as stewards of the land and its resources. Our purpose here is jeopardized and our ability to stand and build the Canadian north is cut off at the knees. In time, my grandchildren may lose patience and leave.
Second, we need the tools for development that all Canadians have had. I will mention two of them.
Earlier this year I visited Labrador and saw three of the excellent marine facilities in a province where there are 370 ports and small craft harbours. In Nunavut, as you see here in Iqaluit, there are none.
The federal government's commitment to the construction of a small craft harbour in Pangnirtung is a very welcome investment, but this is just one in a land where all 25 communities depend on access to the sea and its resources, and for whom marine supply is the most cost-effective link to the rest of Canada. The absence here of not only marine facilities but of adequate federal investments in roads, airports, and other basic economic infrastructure--investments that have been made in every other region of Canada--slows the growth of our economy and makes life here for some prohibitively expensive.
The other tool for development I want to highlight is education. We must improve the education outcome for our children. For this to happen, as Thomas Berger pointed out four years ago, we need a strong partnership in Ottawa.
I'm only 53 years old, but I'm able to draw on the education I received on the land where my family lived and hunted year-round until I was nine years old. Forty years ago, Inuit were moved by the Government of Canada into permanent settlements, and our vital connection to the land and the way of life that was learned on the land was forever compromised. Now, to move ahead, our children need an education system that is equal to what is available elsewhere in the country, and it must be delivered in the context provided by Inuit language and culture. We can all see the École des Trois-Soleils here in Iqaluit. We know the federal government can be an effective partner in education development.
Devolution, infrastructure development, and education: all Canadians must be partners in these vital endeavours here in Nunavut. The future of this country depends on it.
Thank you for listening. I hope your time here brings you a greater understanding of our common future.