Latest news with #Inuit-led
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Akeeagok eager to hear Carney's plan on major project approvals
As Prime Minister Mark Carney is poised to speed up the way major nation-building projects are approved, Premier P.J. Akeeagok says Nunavut is eager to collaborate. Akeeagok, along with his fellow premiers, is to meet with Carney in Saskatoon on Monday. It will be their first in-person gathering since King Charles outlined the Carney government's agenda last Tuesday in the speech from the throne. 'Through the creation of a new Major Federal Project Office, the time needed to approve a project will be reduced from five years to two; all while upholding Canada's world-leading environmental standards and its constitutional obligations to Indigenous Peoples,' Charles said in his speech. 'The government will also strike co-operation agreements with every interested province and territory within six months to realize its goal of 'one project, one review.'' Akeeagok said he was 'really excited' to hear those remarks. The premier remains consistent that he has four major projects on his priority list, which he and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Jeremy Tunraluk jointly endorsed in March. Those projects are the Grays Bay road and port project, the Qikiqtarjuaq deepsea port , the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link , and a hydroelectric project for Iqaluit. 'You look at the four projects we've advanced, and they're all Inuit-led initiatives that really have been in the wishes and the vision of Inuit for decades,' Akeeagok said. 'The whole country is really looking for certainty at this moment, and I think it's so important to ensure that all these discussions around nation building focus on the consent of the Indigenous people.' Akeeagok described seeing growing support for those four projects in recent weeks from other premiers. In early May, he said his fellow northern premiers gave their support. Last week, western Canadian premiers joined in. Next, Akeeagok said, he hopes to bring in more premiers and Carney. A one-on-one meeting with Carney is not on Akeeagok's agenda, the premier's office says. However, Akeeagok said he has a good relationship with Carney. He said he continues to be thankful that the prime minister made Iqaluit one of his first trips shortly after taking office in March. Beyond Akeeagok's wishlist of projects, there will be a lot to discuss at the meetings, including tariffs and Canadian sovereignty. 'We have the solutions here and Nunavut has the certainty in terms of really bringing forward these exciting initiatives that have been envisioned for many, many years,' he said. 'We're looking forward to those conversations around the first ministers meeting of what we could do to fast track, whether it's significant investments or others as well.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
22-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Inuit-led child service project reaches major milestone in Nunavik
A project that aims to create Inuit-led child services in Nunavik has taken a step forward by signing an agreement with other institutions in the region. Signatories include Makivvik and the Nunavik Regional Health and Social Services Board. The two regional health centres also participated in the agreement, namely the Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre in Kuujjuaq, and the Inuulitsivik Health Centre. The project, called Nunavimmi Ilagiit Papatauvinga, would gradually adapt youth protection services to Inuit culture. "We must take back what has been taken from us: the ability to care for our children without fear that our children will be taken from their communities and lose their culture and language," Makivvik president Piita Aatami said in a statement. A long-term project Mina Beaulne, executive director of Nunavimmi Ilagiit Papatauvinga, said she's excited about the progress made by the project, which was first launched in 2017. "It's like a promise that we will work together to make it happen," she said. After working for the province's director of youth protection for 13 years, she said she understands the gap between Inuit values and the government's services. "I didn't like what I was doing. So I knew it was a system that doesn't work for Inuit," she said. The project aims to progressively take over some aspects of the youth protection department, including managing foster families. The heart of the project, however, lies in the implementation of new upstream services for families, which will prevent the removal of children from their environment. "We are not an alternative to the [director of youth protection]. We are building the continuum of services in each community to make sure that nothing falls in the cracks because there have been so many people falling into cracks," Beaulne said. Among its prevention services are family counselling sessions. These meetings will involve the families in managing crisis situations. In more difficult cases, an elders' council, consisting of community members with wisdom and experience to resolve family situations, will be used. It's a way of doing things that's closer to Inuit culture, rather than involving the province, including workers who generally aren't from the region. "That was mentioned so many times by elders, that it used to be the community elders that used to meet the parents whenever there was problems," Beaulne said. The program doesn't want to take over the work of the department entirely — some situations of serious neglect and physical abuse require state intervention, Beaulne said. "We know there will still be children that will need to be placed long term. But to make sure the long-term placement of those children is closely followed, to make sure that the child doesn't lose the language, the culture, and stay connected to families and to the community." Building services The project is currently expanding, with more people being hired to be part of it. It will launch its first tests in Inukjuak by the fall, as part of a pilot project called Pigiarviliutik. "The next step will be to go back to the community and to build the continuum of service with the service providers and then training components," Beaulne said. It's the first step in gradually building up services in 14 communities in Nunavik by 2030. The Inukjuak project will be a way to prove how effective these services are, before sitting down with the province to negotiate the sharing of responsibilities with the department, Beaulne said.
CBC
04-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and Nunavut gov't form working group for Arctic sovereignty strategy
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Nunavut government have announced a working group to develop a strategy for Arctic sovereignty and security. In a joint news release Tuesday morning, they described the effort as "made-in-Nunavut" and a response to world events that have recently put the spotlight on the Arctic. "Nunavut stands together with other territories and provinces in opposing any threats to Canada's sovereignty and security," said Premier P.J. Akeeagok in the release. "We know what's at stake for the Canadian Arctic and Inuit Nunangat, and we know that Nunavut needs to be united and strategic to respond to the challenges before us." There is no timeline yet for when the strategy will be released or when work will officially begin on it. The two groups also called for the federal government to step up its investments in the Arctic and back critical Inuit-led projects, though they did not specify which projects. "Investments in infrastructure, food sovereignty, Inuktut and higher education and the formalization of the Canadian Rangers will greatly enhance the security and well-being of the Arctic region," said NTI president Jeremy Tunraluk in the news release.
CBC
28-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ottawa announces $270M agreement for Inuit-led conservation efforts in Arctic
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a $270-million agreement for jobs and conservation projects in the Qikiqtani region of Nunavut. At a news conference Thursday in Montreal, Trudeau said the deal includes $200 million from the federal government and $70 million pledged by donors in Canada and elsewhere. The investment is projected to attract $318 million over 15 years to the region, which is home to about 20,000 people in 13 communities. "When we invest to protect (and) safeguard biodiversity, we protect those who protect us, our environment and our livelihoods," Trudeau told reporters. The federal money is part of an $800-million envelope announced in 2022 for Indigenous-led conservation initiatives, and it follows similar projects established last year in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. The Sinaa Agreement — sinaa means the edge of the ice floe in Inuktitut — announced Thursday includes a network of proposed Inuit-led water and land conservation areas in the Arctic region. It adds 3.7 per cent to the portion of Canada's oceans under conservation, a number Trudeau said has risen significantly under his tenure as prime minister. "When I first became prime minister almost 10 years ago, less than one per cent of Canada's oceans were protected. We're now nearing the 17 per cent mark," he said, adding that the government's goal is to protect 30 per cent of Canada's oceans by 2030. At the news conference, Trudeau said the deal supports "Inuit-led conservation initiatives to ensure the long-term health of northern environments. In so doing, we are also building an economy based on conversation, creating jobs where Inuit knowledge will be leveraged and valued to protect northern ecosystems and investing in community infrastructure." Trudeau was joined in Montreal by Olayuk Akesuk, president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, whose group is part of the Sinaa Agreement, which also involves the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Aajuraq Conservation Fund Society. Akesuk says the deal shows that Indigenous peoples can work together to set an example for the world. "We can run conservation areas, whether that's in the ocean or on land. And I'm thankful for the opportunity. This is a big milestone for us." The conservation projects, he added, "will create employment opportunities for us and every community in the Baffin region." As well, Ottawa says the Fisheries Department signed an agreement with the Qikiqtani Inuit to provide undisclosed funding over 10 years for access to fisheries, boats, gear and training.
CBC
28-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Countries reach a $200-billion deal to protect nature. The U.S. was not involved
Social Sharing A gathering of countries in Rome this week agreed on a plan to generate $200 billion US in finance a year by 2030 to halt and begin to reverse the destruction of the natural world. The United Nations' COP16 talks on biodiversity began last October in Colombia but failed at that time to reach an agreement on key elements, including who would contribute, how the money would be gathered and who would oversee it. U.S. President Donald Trump is scaling back the involvement of the world's biggest economy in development finance, so the agreement late on Thursday night was a welcome boost for global deal-making. Led by negotiators from the so-called BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — the final deal saw delegates agree on a plan to find at least $200 billion US per year from a range of sources to protect nature. Susana Muhamad, COP16 president and Colombia's outgoing environment minister, heralded the agreement as a triumph for nature and for multilateralism in a year when the political landscape is increasingly fragmented and diplomatic frictions are growing. "From Cali to Rome, we have sent a light of hope that still the common good, the environment and the protection of life and the capacity to come together for something bigger than the national interest is possible," Muhamad said. The agreement is also a win for Canadian diplomatic efforts. The finance deal is a result of a landmark agreement in Montreal in 2022, when countries agreed to protect 30 per cent of the world's lands and oceans. Canadian negotiators, led by federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, got that deal through complex and fraught negotiations involving 196 countries. Since then, the Canadian government has pushed funding into conservation efforts at home, including an announcement on Thursday of $200 million for Inuit-led conservation in the Arctic. Delegates also agreed to explore whether a new biodiversity fund needed to be created, as requested by some developing countries, or whether an existing fund like the one run by the Global Environment Facility would be enough. The GEF has provided more than $23 billion US to thousands of nature projects in the past 30 years. "Everyone with the spirit of compromise made concessions, and in general for developing countries the result was very positive," Maria Angélica Ikeda, director of the Department of Environment at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters as the plenary wrapped up on Thursday night. "I come out of the meeting happy and optimistic." The need for action has only increased in recent years, with the average size of wildlife populations down 73 per cent since 1970, data from the World Wide Fund for Nature's 2024 Living Planet Report shows. The spectre of aid cuts was also felt in negotiating rooms, fuelling frustration among some countries from Brazil to Egypt and Panama that rich nations were not fulfilling their obligations to deliver grant money. The Zoological Society of London's policy head, Georgina Chandler, urged governments to fulfil their commitment to $30 billion US per year by 2030 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The deal in Rome helps lay out the steps needed to implement the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which was agreed to in 2022 and committed countries to a range of environmental targets. Countries also agreed to a set of technical rules for monitoring progress toward the GBF and secured a commitment for countries to publish a national report on their biodiversity plans at the next nature conference, COP17, which will be held in Armenia in 2026. The talks come at the start of a busy year for international climate diplomacy as countries meet at various events to discuss plastics pollution, preserving the oceans and meeting global development goals, ahead of the COP30 climate talks in November.
