Uqaqtittiji, on September 19, I asked a question about funding the hunters and trappers organizations in Nunavut, and the government could not provide any answers. Are the Liberals not aware of their legal obligation to ensure that the Nunavut Agreement is implemented and that there is adequate funding for hunters and trappers organizations?
The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board funds the hunters and trappers organizations, whose mandate includes to ensure conservation and the sustainable use of wildlife, to protect the rights and priorities of Inuit, and to regulate access to wildlife. Unfortunately, the hunters and trappers organizations have a lack of resources.
There is one hunters and trappers organization in every community. I have visited them, and what I have seen so far is that most of their offices are in places that should be condemned. They have only one support staff member, and despite the lack of resources, they are expected to help protect Inuit rights to hunting and manage wildlife. They are the voice of the Inuit in the environmental assessment processes.
The federal government's level of funding for the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board was recently reported in its annual report for this year, 2025. It included about $21 million total for all 25 hunters and trappers organizations, plus the three regional wildlife offices. If we did our math right, that means about $700,000 per hunters and trappers organization per year.
I can compare that to the federal funding for resource extraction projects in Nunavut. Yesterday, the Liberals tabled their budget, which included new funding for Natural Resources Canada to create a new fund called the critical minerals sovereign fund, which we understand would make strategic investments in critical minerals projects and companies and would include equity investments, loan guarantees and offtake agreements.
When I read the budget, this means $2 billion over five years, starting next year, and an additional $50 million over five years for Natural Resources Canada to support the delivery of the fund, which would calculate to roughly $410 million per year for critical mineral funding. That is an astonishing 585 times more than the Liberals give to local Inuit organizations that are protecting wildlife, the environment and cultural practices.
The Liberals give more to extract natural resources from Inuit land than to support wildlife conservation and cultural practices. This is not a balanced approach. Both Liberal and Conservative governments are good at apologizing, but not at acting on reconciliation.
I challenge the government to stop enforcing colonial policies. Does the government believe keeping hunters and trappers less resourced than extraction companies is keeping Canada strong?