Canada's North Beyond 2011
It was in effect the public debut of the Centre For the North, a five-year initiative of the Conference Board of Canada. Much of the benefit of conferences like this comes from the opportunity to meet with people; to re-connect with far-flung acquaintances and to make new friends and colleagues. But for this blog let me share a more or less random assortment of noteworthy statements and observations from some of the many speakers at the event. Think of this as one person’s impressionistic overview of a few highlights from the conference:
Phil Fontaine (former National Chief, Assembly of First Nations) was the first to put the topic of climate change on the table, calling it the “new normal.” He also acknowledged the jurisdictional complexities inherent in project planning, review, approval and development in the North, with multiple levels of national, Aboriginal and territorial/provincial government.
Louise Grondin (from Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd) gave an overview of some of the challenges to business in implementing the Indigenous Impact Benefit Agreements that are an essential component of all Arctic projects; in particular the restrictions on competitive bidding and the need to make payments at the front end, before revenues are flowing.
Madeleine Redfern (Mayor of Iqaluit) gave a frank acknowledgement of the challenges facing educators, whose desire to support traditional learning can’t be allowed to compromise the need to give students the background they need to enter the modern economy.
Elyse Allen (CEO of GE Canada) gave an impassioned argument for the importance of remote communities to the Canadian economy; we need to stop looking at spending in these communities as a subsidy and recognize it as an investment in the future.
Chester Reimer (Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada) spoke to the issue of Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic, and noted that the exercise of sovereignty requires a country to effectively address the best interests of its people; i.e. the Inuit. Tom Axworthy (Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation) echoed this comment by emphasizing that Canada’s claim to sovereignty needs to be legitimized by honouring the promises made to Aboriginal peoples, which has not consistently happened to date.
Mary Simon (President of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami) made several memorable speeches and interventions throughout the conference; one remark that particularly caught my ear was her plea for Inuit involvement in developing the plans for Canada’s two-year term as Chair of the Arctic Council, starting in 2013.
Overall, the emphasis on finding collaborative approaches to sustainable development in the North was virtually universal. Anne Golden, President of the Conference Board of Canada, perhaps summed it up most succinctly with her remark that we need to start with human capital.
This is simply a subjective overview of a few remarks that resonated most strongly with me, and that help to inspire or guide the work that WWF is doing in the Arctic. Readers of this blog will have their own areas of interest, and you may be interested seeing the full presentations, which are available at the website of the Centre of the North. For me, it was an encouraging conference, and we look forward to collaborating with the Centre for the North on an exciting initiative aimed at stimulating informed discussion about the benefits and risks of developments in Arctic waters.
(c) Martin von Mirbach/WWF-Canada
