Final round of hearings for Nunavut Planning Commission's draft land use plan on now in Iqaluit

The Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC) is at the tail end of what it hopes to be the final public hearings on its years-in-the-making draft land use plan.

A hearing is taking place in Iqaluit this week. It kicked off on Monday, and is expected to run until Saturday. 

This week, the Hunters and Trappers Organizations in the region highlighted the issue of protecting wildlife to the committee. That includes comments from representatives of the Kimmirut HTO who said that maps from the planning committee didn't include all the important areas for wildlife.

The group called on the NPC to give more time for hunter and trapper organizations to write their written submission.

Ben Kovic of the Amaruq Hunters Trappers Association in Iqaluit agreed that more time is needed.

"We did not see what we prepared, so we asked if they will show up because they were still missing or incomplete," said Kovic in Inuktitut. "Kimmirutmiut asked the same question, other communities are probably in the same boat."

Nunavut Planning Commission director Sharon Ehaloak told CBC that NPC is not able to extend the Jan. 10 deadline for hunter and trapper organizations.

She said the NPC was listening to all feedback and would incorporate the data in the final plan. The current edition — the fourth draft — of the plan is about 700 pages long.

"It's excellent that they're giving us the feedback that there's additional information that's required. That's the whole point of the public hearing process, to hear from communities, participants, and the public of what they like in the plan and what they don't like," Ehaloak said.

"I would say that this process has been a ongoing process for the last 20 years. And at some point, [it] has to come to a conclusion to get a land use plan in place."

Ehaloak said there are 39 registered participants at the Iqaluit hearing this week. She added that members of the public who want to make presentations are also welcome.

Years in the making

The NPC held hearings throughout the fall, starting in Cambridge Bay then in Rankin Inlet and Thompson, Man., in September. It was then in Pond Inlet in October.

The planning commission said it's tasked with drafting the world's largest land use plan. When completed, the plan will cover one-fifth of Canada's land mass, along with freshwater and marine areas.

The land use plan — a legal requirement under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement between Nunavut and the Crown — is supposed to dictate what land will be protected and what land will be open for development across all of Nunavut. It divides the Nunavut Settlement Area into three parts: limited use areas, conditional use areas, and mixed-use areas. 

The plan also gives guidance to developers on land use, including where and when projects will be allowed and under what conditions.

Existing rights held by companies working in Nunavut, such as mining companies, are not affected by the new plan. Wildlife harvesting is also exempt from the plan and instead, handled through the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, according to the commission.

The process has taken more than a decade, with multiple drafts — four as of July 2021 — and consultations.

Earlier drafts of the plan, which has been in the works since 2007, were released in 2012, 2014 and 2016. The commission says the latest draft plan from 2021 was developed through consultations with all 25 Nunavut communities, hunting and trapping organizations, and Inuit organizations.

Andrew Nakashuk said "it's very important" for the board's upcoming decisions that it hears from everybody "whether government or industry or the people of Nunavut."

"We're going to be going through the difficult process for sure as a commissioners, and there's are lots of conflicting interests," he said of the next steps when the hearing is over.

"But I am very confident with my board that we will be able to come up with the best possible [solution]. It may not be perfect, but I'm very confident that we'll be able to do it."

Dinah Kittosuk, a Sanikiluaq hamlet councillor, said she appreciates the "very good information" provided at the hearing over the last two days.

She said her top concerns are for the environment in her area.

"The water that's been changing also the animals that are not around as much anymore — that's what I'm worried about," Kittosuk said.