Nunavut, Inuit leaders react to speech from the throne

Inuit leaders and Nunavut officials are praising today's speech from the throne, which set out the federal government's agenda for the coming session of Parliament by saying that Liberals would be working on building a new relationship with indigenous people.

Governor General David Johnston delivered a relatively short speech which highlighted the establishment of a nation-to-nation relationship with indigenous communities, the implementation of an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and a promise that "indigenous peoples will be more fully engaged in reviewing and monitoring major resource development projects."

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Natan Obed, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, says he's happy that the government is talking about building renewed relationships with indigenous people, even though there was no specific mention of Inuit in the throne speech.

"I'm now going to focus my efforts on trying to understand what is different in a policy sense, in a program sense, in the way in which the federal government does its business with Inuit," said Obed, "to ensure that this good will that's been started translates into actual change."

For Obed, another highlight of the throne speech was the mention of a new health partnership accord, saying that he "looks forward to being a part of the negotiations."

"I'm sure they'll make room for indigenous peoples in the discussions about how the accord works, and what it looks like," he added.

Infrastructure for the North

"I feel very optimistic in terms of where we can go from here in terms of Inuit within Nunavut," said PJ Akeeagok, President of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, who attended the throne speech in Ottawa on behalf of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

"It was very promising to hear infrastructure mentioned," he added. "We probably deserve and need the most infrastructure attention given, in terms of our needs up North."

Akeeagok added that he was pleased to hear education mentioned on multiple occassions during the speech.

Missing and murdered indigenous women and girls

Rebecca Kudloo, president of Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, said she had spoken with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett recently about the issue of missing and murdered Inuit women and that she had "made a point of staying in touch with our organization about our priorities and how she could help."

"She has a deep understanding of violence against Inuit women as a major physical and mental health issue," said Kudloo.

Kudloo said she's looking forward to working closely with the minister and her colleagues on this file.

Working together

"It is an ambitious throne speech," said Keith Peterson, Nunavut's Minister of Finance. "I thought it was a very positive tone for Nunavut."

"I liked the comments about saying that we would work together," Peterson added, who said he is eager to work closely with Minister Bennett and Hunter Tootoo, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

The reference to more fully engaging Indigenous peoples in reviewing and monitoring major resource development projects was another highlight for Peterson, who said that "you need absolutely to involve Inuit in the communities through consultation, and discussion in terms of protecting the environment, protecting the water, the wildlife."

Peterson also added that employment and training opportunities for Inuit should be part of the discussions.