Natural Resources committee  Other people here may have more information, but it's my understanding--without taking away from the comments about particular delays--that the time requirements for assessment of projects in the Arctic are very similar to what you see in the provinces in Canada. That might be

Natural Resources committee  Just to answer the first question, I don't think there are reliable statistics in terms of Inuit participation in resource projects in all four Inuit regions. There are statistics for public sector employment. Generally, there is 40% to 50% Inuit participation. In terms of obje

Natural Resources committee  Thank you for that. I'll just add a bit of context. As members will appreciate, these two declarations were done by Inuit representatives from four circumpolar countries. There was a discussion among not only Inuit in Canada, but also Inuit from Greenland, Alaska, and Chukotka.

Natural Resources committee  I think your last two questions merge, because in the case of Nunavut, the two things that could be done and that it would support would be to strengthen the boards that are already in place, which, with more resources, could process things faster, and try to get the legislation

Natural Resources committee  I have two comments. In response to the previous question, ITK would support some of those priorities identified in terms of what could be done immediately, primarily the investment of some additional funds in the institutions set up to review projects in Nunavut. As Mr. Hanks s

National Defence committee  Thank you for that question. ITK has said before this committee, and publicly in other places, that it believes the federal government's current northern strategy should be a genuine Arctic strategy that includes all four Inuit regions, including Nunatsiavut in northern Labrado

National Defence committee  Thank you for that question. I'll just recap how we ended up in litigation. The first proposal by NTI, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporation, was to negotiate the resolution of issues. The federal government withdrew its negotiator in 2004, and has refused to appoint a new negotiator

National Defence committee  Thank you, sir, for that question. Just as a background point, members may recall that I was here a few weeks ago with Mary Simon, the president of ITK. I actually split my time between the ITK and NTI. The Inuit practise a very effective form of federalism, and that's why I'm a

National Defence committee  That's right, sir.

National Defence committee  Clearly you'd have to ask a representative of the Government of Canada to give a full explanation. We speculate on the Inuit side of the equation. Our reading tends to be that an arbitrator can come back with a decision you don't like, so why take the chance if you can just veto

National Defence committee  I would agree with that.

National Defence committee  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 wa

National Defence committee  Well, you'll be either disappointed or relieved to know that ITK doesn't actually have somebody who works full time on military issues per se, so by definition, my response will have to be somewhat general. On your last point about consultation, ITK has minimal input into the Ar

National Defence committee  Thank you. ITK acknowledges, as President Simon mentioned a moment ago, that the Arctic is a high-cost area and public investment is limited. So one has to make the best use of resources. Insofar as pursuing a sovereignty strategy and a defence strategy in the north is concerne

National Defence committee  Thank you, sir. ITK found the arguments that Canada put forward in the run-up to the adoption of the declaration quite curious, because in the run-up to the votes in New York in September 2007 there appeared to be an argument that adoption of the declaration would cause legal ma