Quebec Inuit sign land-claims deal

The Nunavik Inuit signed a deal with Canada on Friday that confirms their rights to about 500,000 hectares in thenorthernmost regions of Quebec and Labrador.

The agreement covers some of the islands and waters along the shores of James, Hudson and Ungava bays and Hudson Strait,as well as part ofnorthern Labrador and offshore areasadjacent to Labrador and Quebec.

The 10,000 Inuit in Nunavik—the region in northern Quebec where the Inuit are negotiating self-government with Quebec and Ottawa—hunt seals and whales, and gather clams and eggs in the islands.

But the deal would also give them cash and a share of resource rights, if developments go ahead.

"This unique and modern treaty will provide the Nunavik Inuit with clearly defined land and resource rights, and important overlap arrangements with other aboriginal groups," says the website of theMakivik Corporation in Kuujjuaq.

Representatives of the corporation, which overseesthe interests of Inuit in Nunavik, signed the deal with Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice and Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik.

"To actually have control and own these islands that we've been using for thousands of years as our shelters and our grocery stores, for us it is a very important moment," said Makivik president Pita Aatami.

Under the deal:

• Nunavik Inuit own 80 per cent of all the islands off northern Quebec and part of Labrador.
• Ottawa gives Makivik $95 million over 10 years, with $55 million of that funding a trust thatcan make paymentsto individual Inuit.
• TheInuit and Ottawa jointly manage wildlife, land management and development impact issues.
• TheInuit receive a share in any resource royalties the government collects from developments in the area.
• Agreements defining the relationship with groups that overlap with theNunavik Inuit —the Crees of northern Quebec,Labrador Inuit and Nunavut Inuit — areconfirmed.

The agreement took 13 years to negotiate, partly because it involved so many parties. It does not address self-governmentbecause there areno permanent residents on the islands, the federal government said in a release.

TheInuit in northern Quebec aren't the only ones celebrating.

Earlier in Nunavut's legislature, Okalik applauded the dealbecause the area is under the jurisdiction of his territory and Canada.

"This agreement will clarify the roles of our boards and their boards, and it can only assist us in managing the resources that we both utilize," he said.