National Defence Committee on Oct. 1st, 2009

[Mary Simon]

First of all, I think it'll be important to make sure we cover all the Inuit regions. That's a big issue for us, that it covers all four Inuit regions. Without that, some of our regions will be absent from those discussions, so I think it's really important to resolve that issue. As for how you do it, I guess there are different options that can be explored, and with the province as well, not just with the Inuit.

Yes, I applaud the Prime Minister for coming to the Arctic every year. I think it's very important that the Prime Minister of Canada does raise the profile of the Arctic region, and CanNor, by being located in the north, will be beneficial. We need to make sure that all of this translates not just into building a big military presence in the Arctic, but into a balance between defence and what John calls the civilization aspect: the people, and building sustainable communities. We are encouraging the government and the Prime Minister to put a stronger emphasis on the social agenda of the Arctic. It's very much needed.

[Peter Braid, Conservative, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

With respect to the Northwest Passage and your recommendation on a joint authority, could you tell us why the monitoring of the Northwest Passage, and participating in the process, is so important to you and your people.

[Mary Simon]

As Canadian citizens, it's of concern to us. We are Canadian taxpayers, just like people in the rest of Canada. We carry passports. As citizens of this country, it is of extreme importance that we safeguard our sovereignty. That's one aspect of it.

The other aspect is related to economic development and building sustainable communities. We are quite successful in economic development in many areas--with the airline industry, the fishing industry, and so on. But these are fairly large-scale economic development opportunities that we invest in. What we need is more economic development at the local level. How do we support that smaller-scale economic development? The cost of living is so exorbitant that whenever anybody tries to start up an enterprise they go under, because they can't make ends meet. These are things that we need to look at on a smaller scale. How do we engage each other to make sure this is happening? It's a multi-layered agenda.

[The Chair, Conservative, Maxime Bernier]

I will now give the floor to Mr. Harris, who will be the last member. After that I will suspend our work and we will come back to discuss the e-mail you have in front of you. I don't think it will take long.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

You spoke of the Prime Minister's visit to the Arctic. There had been military manoeuvres in the Arctic in the summertime. One of the difficulties—this is in the news—is that some of the military exercises couldn't be done because of weather and ice conditions. I'm reminded of the history of Arctic exploration and the visit of Captain Bob Bartlett to the North Pole a hundred years ago. The success of the Peary expedition to the North Pole was dependent on the involvement of the Inuit.

The Inuit have much traditional knowledge of ice and weather and Arctic living. Is there a role for this knowledge, and is that role being encouraged, in relation to the activities of the military in the north? The Rangers have a limited function, I would say. Could you comment on the use of Inuit knowledge in the defence context?

[Mary Simon]

I'll go back to—

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

If I may add, with respect to the Northwest Passage, we're talking about ships going through there. Obviously ice conditions, weather conditions, expectations of weather changes are extremely important.

[Mary Simon]

I would have to go back to the fact that we knowingly signed these comprehensive land claims agreements. We signed them because we felt that we needed the tools contained in these comprehensive agreements. We needed those tools to build partnerships with the federal government and other governments. These agreements set out many ways that the Inuit could participate in different regimes. As for the Northwest Passage, environmental issues are of great concern to Inuit. Climate change is having a serious impact on our people with respect to living conditions and our traditional pursuits for a livelihood. We still depend on the countryside's food for most of our protein, since there are no stores in the communities that carry affordable food.

Traditionally, Inuit have a deep knowledge of the marine mammals and how they travel through the Arctic Ocean. Those are things that are embraced in our knowledge base. This knowledge is important in planning the use of the Northwest Passage.

I don't know if John has additional comments.

[John Merritt]

ITK would expect that the world would view Canadian efforts with more credibility if Canadian efforts were focused around an active partnership with Inuit. There are special arrangements already in international law. The Law of the Sea has provisions in relation to ice-covered waters. We have instruments such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. If Canada were to tell the world that it will discharge its environmental and management responsibilities for the passage in a way that builds on an active partnership with Inuit, we think that would have more credibility than just a raw assertion of sovereignty based on 19th century concepts.

We think that's a more contemporary and a more defensible posture. It would be much more likely to generate support for Canada's position that these waters are internal and not subject to a transit passage.

[The Chair, Conservative, Maxime Bernier]

Thank you very much.

I want to thank our witnesses for appearing before the committee today. I am sure that your testimony will serve us well in our study of Canadian Arctic sovereignty.

Thank you very much.

[Proceedings continue in camera]