The Nunavut Planning Commission is astonished by the refusal of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) representatives to fund the Public Hearing on the Draft Nunavut Land Use Plan (DNLUP). The Public Hearing, scheduled for the week of November 24, 2014 in Iqaluit Nunavut, is the final consultation to end a comprehensive public review of the DNLUP. Ironically, the Nunavut Planning Commission had scheduled the Public Hearing to meet the timeline imposed on it by Nunavut Member of Parliament Leona Aglukkaq and AANDC Minister Bernard Valcourt to submit the DNLUP for approval by March 31, 2015. The Commission recently completed an unprecedented two-year public consultation on the DNLUP. Developing a land use plan of this kind to guide and direct resource use and development in the Arctic has never been undertaken by any other jurisdiction in the world. Putting in place a legally binding framework to manage the use of the 1.9 million square kilometres of land, fresh water, marine areas and wildlife of Nunavut is an outstanding legal requirement of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Now, as the Commission is on the cusp of concluding the land use planning process, AANDC has blocked the Nunavut Planning Commissions on-going efforts to secure funding for the public hearing. The DNLUP, first made public September 7, 2012, has already undergone a national consultation that included engaging over 33 communities in Nunavut, Nunavik, Northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, countless Territorial and Federal Government Departments, Inuit organizations, Environmental Non- government organizations and Industry. An updated June 2014 Public Hearing Version of the DNLUP will be released to the public on Friday June 20 th , 2014. With poverty reduction and food security as its underlying themes, the updated DNLUP proposes protected areas and special management to address public concern over development on core caribou calving areas and other unique and sensitive Arctic habitat. The DNLUP strives to harmonize the need for access to hunting and fishing for country food with the exploration and development of the rich mineral resources of Nunavut. The DNLUP, now in its 7 th year of production, is no stranger to controversy. In September 2011, AANDC sponsored an Independent Third Party Review of the land use planning process and the content of the DNLUP. The external experts on land use planning and northern resource policy concluded that: the DNLUP and the planning process were reasonable and acceptable; the public consultations should proceed; and the DNLUP should be concluded and submitted for approval in a timely manner. The final Public Hearing now lies in jeopardy of never occurring. AANDCs decision not to fund the November Public Hearing has effectively blocked the Commissions ability to conclude the public review of the DNLUP. Although this is representative of an historic pattern of AANDCs underfunding of 2
regulatory boards in northern Canada, the Nunavut Planning Commission remains hopeful that the Department will reconsider its decision to block further development of the DNLUP. Unfortunately, in light of the lack of funding from AANDC, the Nunavut Planning Commissions Board of Directors today directed the Executive Director to suspend the Public Hearing until further notice. All documentation regarding the DNLUP and process can be found on the Commission web site www.nunavut.ca Media Contact: Sharon Ehaloak Executive Director Nunavut Planning Commission sehaloak@nunavut.ca