Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  For the most part, in my office we have a staff of eleven, and there are only four non-Inuit beneficiary staff members.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'd have to go back and check to be 100% positive, but I believe it's to anybody who is dealing with marine issues.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would ask for a little bit of clarification of what issues specifically you're asking of, whether they're similar to Nunavik or not. At this point, our reporting obligation is through the federal government. At the municipal level, we issue municipal water licences and we do environmental assessments for certain activities in the municipal communities, but it's hard to say, not being familiar with Nunavik, how closely it's tied to similar issues that they may have.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's a very good question. It's not something that we have the ability to do at this point in time. We've not studied the impacts of climate change on the source volumes that are realized in Nunavut. I'm not aware of any research being done in Nunavut along those lines at this point in time.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The environmental assessment of any development project in Nunavut goes through the Nunavut Impact Review Board and they are the decision-makers in that regard. The federal government is a party to that process. They can provide comments, but the decision-making, as it relates to studying terms and conditions for an environmental assessment, rests with the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In terms of the various institutions of the government, the Nunavut Impact Review Board is actually based in Cambridge Bay, and the Nunavut Water Board's head office is based in Gjoa Haven. They are in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut. So for us to get to the capital of Nunavut, Iqaluit, to the main government bodies, we have to actually travel from west Kitikmeot to Yellowknife, and then across the top from Yellowknife to Iqaluit, to get to any meetings or that sort of thing.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The mandate of the Nunavut Water Board is inland fresh water. It does not incorporate marine water. So any water licensing that is done is strictly to potable, drinking-quality kind of water. It's called fresh water, and it's inland water. In dealing with marine issues, the land claim sets out that the boards have the ability to create what is called the Nunavut Marine Council.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. As Thomas introduced me earlier, my name is Dionne Filiatrault. I'm the executive director for the Nunavut Water Board. I'm speaking to you today about the board's funding constraints. Given the vast territory, the obligation to hold hearings in communities most directly affected, working in three languages, and the limited capacity of people and communities to engage in the regulatory process, the cost of fulfilling the mandate of the boards is high.