DRAFT NUNAVUT LAND USE PLAN

Transcription

1 DRAFT NUNAVUT LAND USE PLAN NUNAVUT PLANNING COMMISSION 4 th TECHNICAL MEETING TRANSCRIPT Iqaluit, Nunavut March 7 to 10, 2016

2 ATTENDEES NPC: Executive Director NPC: Director of Implementation NPC: Senior Planner NPC: Senior Planner NPC: Legal Counsel NPC: Manager of Translations, Interpreter NPC: Inuktitut Interpreter, Regional Planner NPC: GIS Technician NPC: Planner Moderator: Aurora Wildlife Research Biologist Baker Lake HTO Biologist High Arctic BQCMB Chair BQCMB Caslys Consulting Elder Advisory Committee - Kitikmeot Elder Advisory Committee Elder Advisory Committee Gjoa Haven Environmental Dynamics GN DoE GN GN DoE GN Director Wildlife Management GN GN Biologist GN GN DoE GN DoE GN GN GN GNWT INAC INAC INAC INAC Justice Canada Justice Canada Kitikmeot Inuit Association Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board Sharon Ehaloak Brian Aglukark Jon Savoy Peter Scholz Alan Blair Tommy Owlijoot Annie Ollie Jared Fraser Alana Vigna David Livingstone Kim Poole Basil Quinangnaq Liza Ningiuk Earl Evans Leslie Wakelyn Jason Shaw Jimmy Haniliak Bartholomew Nirlungayuk David Siksik Mike Setterington Morgan Anderson Denise Baikie Mitch Campbell Drikus Gissing Lou Kamermans Lisa-Marie Leclerc Clayton Lloyd Kristi Lowe Lynda Orman Steve Pinksen Amy Robinson Melanie Wilson Bruno Croft Spencer Dewar Kim Pawley John Price Alexander Unaluak Ken Landa Michelle Zakrison Luigi Torretti Eva Ayalik Peter Kapolak 2

3 Kivalliq Regional Wildlife Board Kivalliq Regional Wildlife Board NTI NTI NTI NTI Vice President NTI Inuit Learning Development NTI NTI NTI NWMB NWMB Parks Canada Parks Canada QIA QIA QWB WWF Canada Stanley Adjuk Warren Bernauer Marie Belleau Naida Gonzalez (via phone) Miguel Chenier James Eetoolook Jackson Hansen Paul Irngaut David Lee Hannah Uniuqsaraq Peter Kydd Karla Letto Andrew Maher Micheline Manseau Rosanne D Orazio Steven Lonsdale Jackie Price Brandon Laforest 3

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS DAY 1: Introduction and Opening Remarks 6 Background Information NPC: Overview of Caribou Workshop 9 NPC: Review of Drat NLUP Approach to Caribou and Comment 10 On IOL and High Mineral Potential Planning Partner Perspectives Chamber of Mines: Proponent Perspectives of Caribou Protection 12 Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Opening Remarks 14 Kitikmeot Inuit Association Opening Presentation 15 Qikiqtani Inuit Association Opening Presentation 16 Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board Opening Presentation 18 Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board Opening Remarks 19 World Wildlife Fund Opening Remarks 20 Kivalliq Wildlife Board Opening Remarks 21 Beverly Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board Opening Perspectives 24 Government of the Northwest Territories Opening Presentation 27 Government of Nunavut, Department of Environment Opening Remarks 33 Government of Canada Opening Presentation 39 The Seasonal Ranges GN: Seasonal Ranges and Brief on the Precautionary Principle 46 NWMB: Agreement on Caribou Calving Areas from Nov Workshop 63 KivWB: Importance of Freshwater Crossings and use of IQ for Data Collection 66 QWB: Description and Delineation of the Baffin Caribou, IQ Basis 69 The Planning Tools BQCMB: The Benefits and Need for Area Protection for Caribou 70 Kim Poole: Assessment of Caribou Protection Measures 82 Chamber of Mines: Proposal of Mobile Protection Measures 93 4

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS DAY 2: 99 Geographic Delineation 104 Mainland Migratory Caribou Calving and Post-Calving 114 Inuit Owned Lands Discussion NTI Presentation: IOL Designations in Caribou Calving Grounds 129 Mineral Potential Chamber of Mines: Areas of High Mineral Potential in Caribou 138 Calving Grounds Tundra Wintering Mainland Caribou 151 Tundra Wintering Island Caribou 161 Peary Caribou 165 DAY 3: 171 Peary Caribou Discussion Continued 171 Outstanding Questions and Concerns 172 Existing Rights Discussion 184 Concluding Remarks from the Parties 188 5

6 DAY 1 March 7, 2016 INTRODUCTIONS AND OPENING REMARKS Let s get started. We re pressed for time, and obviously pressed for space. My name is David Livingstone, and I ll be chairing this session over the next three days, hopefully three days. We ve got some weather coming in tonight and tomorrow, so we ll see how tomorrow goes. If we can t work tomorrow, we ll do it in two days, and maybe Thursday morning. A couple of technical things: the headsets. If you open the back of the headset, there is a button on the top right. Just press that. That should find the channel that you re looking for automatically I m told. Washrooms are outside to the right. There is an exit behind the screen there, and obviously there is the main door there in case of emergencies. I think there is another door no, I don t think there is, so two doors. The interpreter, Tommy, is our only interpreter for this morning, and Annie will be in later this morning hopefully, weather permitting. So we ll have only Inuktitut and English. As you can see, the proceedings are going to be videotaped, and CBC, I gather, will be showing up at some point today. I don t know when exactly. The GN will be arriving about 10:30. They re doing a little bit of a briefing this morning to prepare for today and the rest of the week. What else? Oh, and there will be coffee I m told sometime soon. I really hope so, and maybe some snacks too. And because Tommy is the only interpreter, we ll be breaking pretty rigorously, about every hour and a half or so. That should work okay. As usual, there will be a transcript of the meeting. Jazz isn t here, but she ll be getting the recordings twice a day, and we ll have a transcript within two to three weeks of the meeting. Is there anything else that I ve forgotten? Okay, what I ll suggest we do is a roundtable of introductions, just names and organizations, and then I ll turn it over to Sharon for opening remarks. And Tommy will do the opening prayer. So Tommy, maybe I can call on you to do that now? Tommy: (Opening Prayer) Alright, thank you, Tommy. Cellphones: please put them on mute. Just a comment again about timing: I m going to ask people to be really rigorous in respecting the times that we ve set out in the agenda. So when it comes to opening remarks, ten minutes per party and a five-minute questionand-answer. As I said, GN will be late, but when they re here, we will get them to make their opening remarks. I d hoped they would be here first thing in the morning, but they re clearly not. Oh, so now we do have a GN representative. Okay, welcome. And the phone line is the phone 6

7 line working? Okay, we ll get the phone line running as soon as possible, and then people will be able to call in. Just for the organizations that are here, and I ll repeat it for the people calling in, it s going to be awkward given the nature of the workshop. So I m going to ask the folks that are calling in to defer to their organizations here if at all possible to ask questions on their behalf. It may not be possible in some circumstances. But we ll do our best. We ll work as long as we can today and if we can tomorrow, and then Wednesday as long as we can again. If things really screw up tomorrow weather-wise, we may work into Thursday morning. We ll see. With that, I ll just ask for a quick roundtable of introductions, and then we ll get to the opening remarks. I ll go with Brian first. Brian: Sharon: Qujannamiik, David. Brian Aglukark, Nunavut Planning Commission. (Greeting). I m Sharon Ehaloak. I m with the Planning Commission. I m the Executive Director. (Pause) Finally the lawyer can t speak. (Laughter) Alan: Mike: Basil: Warren: Miguel: Hannah: Pau l?: Bruno: Luigi: Earl: Brandon: Jackie: Karla: Mike and I are going to leave together. Good morning, it s Alan Blair, Legal Counsel for the Nunavut Planning Commission. I m Mike Setterington, representative for the Northwest Territories-Nunavut Chamber of Mines. Basil Quinangnaq, Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers. Warren Bernauer, the Kivalliq Wildlife Board. Third time is not a charm. Miguel Chenier with NTI Lands in Cambridge Bay. Ublaahatkut. Hannah Uniuqsaraq, NTI Iqaluit. (Greeting stated in his language) NTI. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning. My name is Bruno Croft. I m a biologist with the Government of Northwest Territories. Looking forward to three days of discussions. Thank you. Luigi Torretti, Kitikmeot Inuit Association, Senior Environment Officer. Good morning. My name is Earl Evans, Chair of the Caribou Management Board. Thank you. Brandon Laforest with WWF Canada here in Iqaluit. Hello, Jackie Price, Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board based out of Iqaluit. Good morning. Karla Letto with the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board. 7

8 Peter Kydd: Peter S: Jonathan: Jared: Spencer: Ken: Good morning, I m Peter Kydd, the Director of Wildlife Management with the NWMB. Peter Scholz, Nunavut Planning Commission. I m Jonathan Savoy, Planner with the Nunavut Planning Commission. Good morning. Jared Fraser, GIS Technician, Nunavut Planning Commission. Good morning, Spencer Dewar, Indigenous Northern Affairs Canada. Ublaahatkut. Ken Landa, Department of Justice (Remainder not translated). Peter Kapolak: Good morning. Peter Kapolak, Co-Chair for Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board. Steve P: Mitch: Lynda: Lisa Marie: Jason: Kristi: Steven L: David Lee: Marie: Leslie: Lou:?Lou?: David S: Jimmy: Good morning. Steve Pinksen with the Government of Nunavut, Department of Environment. Good morning, Mitch Campbell, Government of Nunavut based out of Arviat. Good morning. Lynda Orman, Manager of Wildlife Research, Department of Environment, Government of Nunavut. Hi, I m Lisa Marie-Leclerc. I m a biologist for the Kitikmeot Region, Government of Nunavut. Jason Shaw, Caslys Consulting. Kristy Lowe, Government of Nunavut in the Department of Environment Steven Lonsdale, Qikiqtani Inuit Association. David Lee, NTI Wildlife Department. Ublaahatkut, Marie Belleau, NTI (Remainder not translated). Hi, Leslie Wakelyn, Beverly Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board based in Yellowknife. Lou Kamermans, GN. (Introduction in his language) I m David Siksik here from Gjoa Haven Elder s Group, Environment. Jimmy Haniliak, Elder s Advisors Committee, Department of Environment. Bartholomew: Bartholomew Nirlungayuk, Environment, Elders Group. Clayton: Clayton Lloyd, Government of Nunavut, Department of Economic Development and Transportation 8

9 John: Michelle: Micheline Kim: Eva: Morgan: Melanie: Denise: Amy: Andrew: John Price, Indigenous Northern Affairs Canada based in Iqaluit. Ublaahatkut, Michelle Zakrison, Department of Justice Canada Micheline Manseau. I m a wildlife ecologist with Parks Canada. Kim Pawley, Environment and Renewable Resources with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada in Gatineau. Eva Ayalik, Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board. Morgan Anderson, Government of Nunavut, High Arctic Regional Biologist Melanie Wilson, Ecosystems and EA Biologist, Government of Nunavut Okay, thanks. Have we missed anybody? Denise Baikie, Government of Nunavut, Department of Environment Amy Robinson, Government of Nunavut. Andrew Maher, Parks Canada Agency Background Information: NPC: Overview of Caribou Workshop Sharon: Thanks, everybody and apologies for the cramped quarters. We ll see if we can create more space at the break. I ll turn it over now to Sharon for NPC s opening remarks. Good morning, everyone and welcome. It s very good to see so many people and so many people from my home community of Cambridge Bay and Kitikmeot. It s always good to see our region over in this area. So this is the Fourth Technical Session that the Commission is holding for the Draft Nunavut Land Use Plan. As David said, the workshop agenda is full. We have weather with us, as always, and we re scheduled to finish Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. Right after that workshop, we will be starting the marine portion of the Technical Workshop, and we will be doing evening sessions. We ll be starting the Marine Workshop at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The Commission, first of all, would like to thank you for your submissions for this workshop. Caribou is by far the most emotional topic in Nunavut, and a great deal of input has been provided on the subject. We are here today to discuss your recommendations on caribou - caribou protection and we have asked for two very specific types of information, which you have already read in the agenda, but we are going to reiterate it. First, we need to identify with reasonable accuracy, caribou habitat that is relied on during the different seasons. The caribou habitat included in Schedule A of the 2014 Draft of the Nunavut Land 9

10 Use Plan uses the boundaries of core calving and post-calving areas for the mainland caribou that were provided by the Government of Nunavut. If your organization wishes to add, change, or delete these areas, we need to know your reasons why, what the alternatives are, and to be clear and simple. This is the opportunity to describe your recommended changes in front of other participants in a transparent consultative forum. Your suggestions will be reviewed, and hopefully consensus will be achieved at this meeting or leading up to the Public Hearing. Secondly, the NPC needs to know what policies should be included in the Plan, for what type of habitat, and if there is a need to have a different policy for the different herds. The Commission wants to make a few things abundantly clear for this workshop. This forum is a respectful one. It is one that the Commission is here to listen to all parties equally. We need to understand everyone s perspective and the reasons for those perspectives. Our staff, when they ask questions, are genuinely trying to understand your position and the information from a high level. It s comprehensive, and we want to ensure a holistic approach. To help ensure we capture everything in this session, we are recording it. We have audio, and we have a full transcript, as David said earlier, and the transcripts will be available for you within the next two to three weeks. So when you speak, please say your name and your organization for the record. I know we say this every single meeting that we have, but I m going to reiterate it again. This is a first generation Land Use Plan. It s not a forever plan. It s a Plan that is a living document. A Plan amendment can be proposed at any time, and the Plan will be reviewed frequently with a minimum of every five years. We know herds move with time. The Plan can adapt to changing caribou conditions, and in the future as new information becomes available, it will be adopted into the Plan. Planning can also provide an opportunity to coordinate research. We encourage participants also to think about what kind of universal research program is suitable for the caribou in Nunavut and to inform now and for the future for the Nunavut Land Use Plan. We look forward to hearing everyone over the course of the next couple of days. I look forward to speaking with many of you around the table individually. With that, David, I ll turn it back over to you. Thank you. Background Information: NPC: Review of Draft NLUP Approach to Caribou & Comment on IOL and High Mineral Potential Peter S: Okay, thanks Sharon. The next item on the agenda is Review of Draft NLUP Approach to Caribou. Who is taking that one? Peter? Peter Scholz, NPC. I ll cover points 2 and 3 of the agenda and it ll only take a couple of minutes. Point 2 is reviewing with the 2014 Draft the current Draft what the approach to caribou is. In essence, the Commission took the polygons that were advised by the Government of Nunavut and all the advice was for mainland herds; there wasn t any for the island herds for calving and postcalving areas. What the Commission did is it took those two sets of polygons, merged them, and 10

11 then created from there, two new types of polygons: Calving and Post-Calving Habitat, which is shown on the screen up there in green, and a separate type of polygon, Calving and Post-Calving Habitat with High Mineral Potential, which is shown as yellow on the screen there. So collectively, all the polygons you see there are all the calving and post-calving areas for the mainland herds, as defined by the Government of Nunavut. But the boundaries are not between calving and postcalving. The boundaries you see are the boundaries between where there is high mineral potential, which was defined by INAC, and not high mineral potential. I ll quickly review what the proposed policies are for those two polygon sets you re seeing on the screen. For 47, which is the green, which is core calving Peter? You need to slow down a little bit. By the way, folks, I do have control over everybody s mike, which is kind of neat actually. (Laughter) So I won t hesitate to use it if I need to. Sorry, Peter. Peter S: Peter NPC. So for the green core calving and post-calving habitat, it is proposed to be a Protected Area with the following prohibited uses: mineral exploration and production, oil and gas exploration and production, quarries, hydro development, all-weather roads, and any related research to any of the above so quite a high level of protection. For the 48, which is the yellow, which is again also calving and post-calving areas, they are proposed to be a Special Management Area with the terms as follows: The NPC may refer a project proposal falling within one to NIRB for screening when NPC has concerns respecting the cumulative impact of that project proposal in relation to other development activities in that planning area. The direction is that regulatory authorities need to mitigate impacts on calving and post-calving areas. So essentially the yellow is the same ecological system, but it s a strong flag to the regulatory authorities that these are important areas to caribou, and through the impact assessment process, they need to be considered very carefully. That s point 2. I ll just jump into point 3, and if there are any questions, we ll take them then. Oh yes, I m sorry. In Schedule B, we also have the sea ice crossings for the Dolphin and Union herd running between Victoria Island and the mainland, which is again like a flag to regulatory authorities to take into consideration that the herd needs those crossings between Victoria Island and the mainland. Moving into point 3 of the agenda, Comment on Inuit Owned Lands and High Mineral Potential, those two topics have been moved to the back of this agenda, to Wednesday, so that we can discuss caribou habitat in a comprehensive way and not get pulled aside by economic or other considerations. So the idea is that we can have a comprehensive view of caribou habitat across the territory as a whole, and then we can move into any of these other factors as needed. But we will have that base understanding of caribou habitat that we ll build together over the next two days before we move into those kinds of discussions. Thank you. Thanks, Peter. I m not going to entertain questions just now. We ll have plenty of time, I hope, for questions later. So we ll just roll into the opening remarks from each of the organizations, and the 11

12 first will be the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. Mike, do you want to start? And again, I ll ask people to introduce themselves before they speak. Planning Partner Perspectives: Chamber of Mines: Proponent Perspectives on Caribou Protection Mike: Ladies and gentlemen, Ublaahatkut. Uvanga Mike Setterington. I m a Wildlife Biologist and Impact Assessment Specialist with a company called Environmental Dynamics in Whitehorse, Yukon. I ve worked as a Wildlife Biologist for the environmental assessment of a number of mining projects in Nunavut and in Northern Western Canada. All of those projects have assessed and managed for potential impacts on caribou. EDI is a member of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. For this workshop, I m a Technical Representative of the Chamber in Nunavut s mining industry. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines performs the following functions in Nunavut: It monitors Nunavut s developments and issues relevant to the mining industry. It provides information to industry, Nunavummiut and others on exploration and mining in Nunavut. It provides community outreach about exploration and mining matters and opportunities. And of relevance to this workshop, it provides input to government on policy and legislation as it relates to exploration and mine development. The Chamber is at this Fourth Technical Meeting to provide an exploration and mining business perspective on proposed protection measures for caribou in the Draft Nunavut Land Use Plan. Based on discussions from the previous three Technical Meetings, there is a perception that there are organizations that are for and those that are against protection of caribou. This is not true. We are here because we are concerned about caribou and caribou management in Nunavut. The fact is there are differences in opinions on approaches on how caribou can be protected. The Chamber is one of those organizations providing informed and manageable alternative approaches that will provide for the protection of Nunavut s caribou. Managing caribou is a responsibility of Nunavut s wildlife co-managers. The Chamber expects the policy and Land Use Plan directions created by those organizations will be made on the basis of informed and sound management decisions that are derived from observed evidence, Traditional Knowledge, and reasonable estimates of impacts on caribou populations. The Chamber expects that reasonable approaches and alternatives will be considered, particularly where those management decisions may affect the progress and opportunities of the exploration in the mining business. The Chamber is aware of the importance of caribou to the local economies, and importance and well being to Inuit and First Nation cultures. Protecting caribou and ensuring continued hunter access, sustainable harvest, and sustainable populations are as important to the Chamber as is protecting and environment of opportunity for discovery, developing profitable projects, and helping to sustain a part of Nunavut s economy. 12

13 The Chamber shares the concerns for caribou, supports land use planning, environmental management and assessment, and encourages the use of mitigation actions and protection measures where they make sense. We recognize that mining in Nunavut interacts with caribou, and there is no doubt that caribou can be disturbed by mining activities. Through the land use permit and environmental review process, Industry continuously advances efforts to minimize disturbance to caribou. For active projects, this may mean reducing activities during important time for caribou, including calving and migration, when caribou are present. Through Nunavut s Impact Review Board process, Industry is leading many efforts in studying and monitoring the effects of exploration and mining disturbances on caribou. Industry is adapting to new information and new approaches to monitoring and reducing those effects. Peter: Mike: Sorry, do you want me to advance the slides? No, that s fine. There are three reasons why we should consider alternatives to many aspects of the protection measures proposed for the Draft Nunavut Land Use Plan: 1. Nunavut has years of experiences, and analyses repeatedly show that mining disturbances are not the drivers of caribou populations. Excluding industrial activity entirely from seasonal habitats will likely amount to little, if anything, for the recovery of caribou populations. 2. The second reason is that Nunavut has a robust and effective environmental review and monitoring process. Individual projects are subject to intense scrutiny before they are permitted to operate. Additionally, existing protection tools for caribou, in use and improving since 1978, work. 3. The third reason is that the Government of Nunavut s proposal for Protected Areas is not based on sound evidence and seemingly lacks overall strategy to address the root causes of caribou population limitation and regulation. These statements are supported by the Chamber s technical review of the caribou protection measures proposed for the Draft Nunavut Land Use Plan. The review recommends alternative approaches in areas for potential improvements. The review also suggests reconsideration of the proposed protection measures. That technical review was posted on the Nunavut Planning Commission s website and is available for public viewing. The technical review provided an overview with references to key literature showing that after more than 50 years of caribou research, there are still no established relationships between industrial disturbance and significant impacts to caribou population health in Nunavut. Regardless, the mining industry continues to study and assess potential impacts, and continues to use best management practices and evolving strategies to reduce disturbance in impact monitoring. The Government of Nunavut should consider alternative analyses for identifying core calving and key access corridors. The Chamber provided 8 recommendations for revisions, including analyses to better characterize variation in the areas, and to better define what the important habitat features are in the core areas that require specific protection. 13

14 In addition to the technical review and recommendations, environmental work for advanced exploration and mining projects continue to analyze and provide the results that characterize potential project and cumulative effects on Nunavut s caribou populations. Assessments have been completed and reviewed that include analysis of the Bathurst, Beverly, Ahiak, (muted) Mike: Mike: Mike, are you going to wrap up fairly soon? We ve got a lot of stuff to go through. Am I over 15 minutes? Yeah. Well, it was 10 minutes plus 5 minute of questions, so there clearly won t be time for questions. Okay. Those analyses for the caribou herds are detailed into six peer-reviewed assessments prepared for the public and review boards in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Managing impacts on caribou is a key exploration and project development concern. Industry has been working with caribou protection measures that are being applied across Nunavut for many years. On a case-by-case basis, individual caribou protection plans were developed through a regulated and collaborative process with input from Government, Inuit Associations, Hunter and Trapper Associations and communities. Sound management decisions have to be made on clear evidence, justification of what will work, and a commitment to follow-up effectiveness monitoring. Without a strategy and having those tools in place, it is premature to jump to habitat protection as the tool to protect caribou. Ladies and gentlemen, the Chamber suggests that we keep working with the existing tools and build what has already been working for the protection of caribou in Nunavut. We look forward to productive and focused discussions at this planning workshop. Qujannamiik. Miguel: Thanks, Mike. As I said, there won t be time for questions at this point at least. I want to remind people that we have a bunch of folks who want to speak, and I don t want to be delaying things because the previous speaker or speakers have exceeded their time allotment. So please, remember that there are other folks waiting to speak. If you can just focus your presentation on 10 minutes on the key items, I think that would be appreciated by everybody. Miguel, are you speaking for NTI? No, David, I think Hannah is. Thanks. Planning Partner Perspectives NTI Opening Presentation Hannah: Ublaahatkut. (Greeting in Inuktitut followed). My name is Hanna Uniuqsaraq. With me are my colleagues, Paul Irngaut, David Lee, Marie Belleau, and Miguel Chenier, as well as our colleagues from the Regional Inuit Associations. Thank you, NPC, for organizing this meeting and opening up the lines. Much appreciated. NTI recognizes the vital importance of healthy caribou populations 14

15 now and in the future. NTI would like to see a Nunavut Land Use Plan that addresses caribou protection adequately, and that also respects Inuit goals for the use of Inuit Owned Lands. NTI sees this Caribou Technical Meeting as an opportunity to gain better understanding of how caribou populations should be protected, monitored, and managed. We are looking forward to hearing from Inuit who are knowledgeable about caribou, as well as biologists and other technical experts. NTI is looking forward to working with all the other organizations at this important meeting and building a consensus on how to address caribou in the first generation Nunavut Land Use Plan. I ll keep my points brief. Qujannamiik. Thank you very much, Hannah. Any questions? We have a couple of minutes. (Pause). Alright, Kitikmeot Inuit Association, you re next. Planning Partner Perspectives: Kitikmeot Inuit Association Opening Presentation Luigi: Ublaahatkut. Luigi Torretti, Kitikmeot Inuit Association. Thank you very much for having this Fourth Technical Meeting. This is a difficult meeting especially given the topic and the emotional attachment we all have to caribou here in Nunavut. The Kitikmeot Inuit Association is the regional association representing Inuit, and our mandate is to represent the interests of Kitikmeot Inuit by protecting and promoting our social, cultural, political, environmental, and economic wellbeing. As you can see, that spans quite a large spectrum, and we need to ensure that we can manage all of these. It is a very difficult chore. As such, we do promote appropriate exploration and mining development in the interests of all Inuit. Projects must balance economic and social development, and they must sustain land, wildlife, and Inuit lifestyles. The KIA has been involved in the Nunavut Planning Commission process for a very long time. In the last, about two years ago, there was a resolution NTI resolution for the Regional Inuit Associations and NTI to work together to try and put forward a common position on the Land Use Plan. I have to tip my hat to my colleagues, because it is my feeling, my opinion, that we know the Plan very well. We understand how it impacts Inuit, and we are trying to do our best to ensure that Inuit interests are represented in that Plan. With respect to the process, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, Article B: special attention shall be devoted to protecting and promoting the existing and future wellbeing of Inuit and Inuit Owned Lands. Article C: The planning process shall ensure land use plans reflect the priorities and values of the residents of the planning regions. Article : The land use planning process shall apply to Inuit Owned Lands. Land Use Plans shall take into account Inuit goals and objectives for Inuit Owned Lands. We understand these very well, and we are trying our best to ensure that caribou as well as economic development are permitted as a result of the Plan. The KIA has made a submission regarding caribou at the First Technical Meeting, and it s on the record so I won t talk about it in detail. But I want to make it very clear, as has been stated by others, that caribou are extremely 15

16 important to the RIAs and NTI. We do wish to find the solution. But the solution cannot be unilateral. It has to be respectful of harvesters as well as people Inuit wanting to work with Industry. There was a submission that was made to NPC by the Kugluktuk HTO, and I wish to bring that to the forefront. I asked about it. It is on the NPC records. The West Kitikmeot is an area that has experienced a lot of exploration, and there is a certain level of understanding of the impacts. So there isn t a level of unilateral protectionism requested in the West. We need to take that into consideration, especially when unemployment in Nunavut is at 17%. It might be a little bit higher in the Kitikmeot, in fact. In conclusion, it is a difficult balance, and we re trying to walk that sword s edge. We ve always tried to walk that sword s edge. We re not talking about you know, complete and utter development, but we have to be understanding that there are harvesters there are Inuit harvesters and there are Inuit who want to participate in the wage economy. Thank you. Thanks, Luigi. Any questions? Alright, a couple of comments I guess: One is if we could ask people to slow down, it ll help Tommy. At the same time, I do want to get back to being on schedule, and I think we re pretty close. We ve got a lot of stuff to do. The second thing and this came up, well it s come up in every workshop that we ve had there is no doubt that everyone is concerned about caribou. The challenge - and it has been a frustrating exercise from my perspective as an independent Chair of this - is we talk a lot, but we haven t come to any clear consensus on what we need to do. The test of our resolve, I think, to ensure that there are caribou sufficient for harvesting but also to maintain the ecosystem, is going to be in what we do, not what we say. So I d really encourage people to start thinking about what they re going to do and not repeat the messages that we ve all heard before. No question about the sincerity, but there is a shortfall on action. I think we can all agree on that. I think we re going to defer the Kivalliq Inuit Association presentation. Luis is not here. Hopefully he will get in today or tomorrow, and we ll go there at that point, so I ll call on QIA. Thanks. Planning Partner Perspective: Qikiqtani Inuit Association Opening Presentation Steven L: Steven Lonsdale with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. My director is traveling today, so I will be presenting on behalf of QIA. First of all, thank you for organizing the meetings, and welcome everyone to Iqaluit. My verbal presentation today will speak to a few items: 1. QIA s position on caribou protection 2. The ongoing development of the Land Use Plan as it relates to community consultations 3. And lastly questions and issues identified at the most recent community consultation in Sanikiluaq. 16

17 Firstly, the caribou protection: This is already public knowledge and might already have been announced at the last Technical Meeting. In October, at the QIA Board Meeting, NTI Wildlife and the GN Department of Environment gave a briefing on caribou protection measures. At that meeting, a resolution was passed by our Board endorsing protection in caribou calving grounds and mobile protection measures in post-calving grounds. This is definitely a very complex issue that will be discussed over the next few days by everyone here. Following those discussions, it is safe to say that the Land Use Plan will incorporate information and change, once again. This brings me to the next point of the ongoing development of this Plan and how the community involvement was only at the initial phase during the 2013 consultations. Information was taken from community members, and the Plan was drafted and redrafted into the 2014 version that we see today, something not yet presented back to the originating sources. Questions, concerns, and discussions around caribou over the next three days will see the Plan change and evolve. QIA has stressed the importance of bringing this Plan back to communities to ensure that the designations align with people s priorities and values, especially when it comes to Inuit Owned Lands. From the time of the original consultations until a final hearing, you re looking at a minimum of three different drafts. The more that this Plan changes without being presented in communities, the further away it will be from the people s priorities and values for the intended use of that land. QIA had the opportunity to return to one community Sanikiluaq for continued consultations for land use planning. We had formally requested that the NPC accompany us, but the NPC was unable to attend. We felt there were too many outstanding issues to be addressed, so we went on our own anyway. We presented to the CLARC Community Lands and Resources Committee the HTO, the Hamlet, and the public on facts and information on the Land Use Plan, the consultation process to date, and the various proposed designations and associated prohibited activities. It was apparent that some of the designations were a surprise in that the community priorities and values were not fully reflected, especially for an IOL hunting area close to town designated as high mineral potential. Several of the different questions and comments included, Why haven t we seen this map before? referring to the Land Use Plan designations map. The high mineral potential designation on IOL does not reflect what the community wants. Where did this data come from? How was the information gathered in 2013 used, and how is it assessed to get the designations? We still have many communities to follow-up with to see if the Land Use Plan designations align with community priorities and values for their intended use of their IOL. We anticipate similar questions, concerns, and possible discrepancies from other communities regarding the Land Use Plan, and we continue to stress the importance of community involvement in the ongoing consultations. Thank you. Luigi: Thanks, Steven. Just to forestall any comments about process, I m going to remind people that there are discussions underway outside this room regarding process. I ll just leave it there, because otherwise we can get into another fight. Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity. You talked about (muted). 17

18 Luigi: Could you introduce yourself, please? Thank you. Luigi Torretti, Kitikmeot Inuit Association. Your question at the end of my presentation was there is very little in terms of substance. The KIA has put forward a position. It is not a Board Directive, but it is a position that we did submit at the First Meeting. So I welcome anybody to take a look at that. It should be on the NPC website. We are in favor of mobile protection measures. It s just we are not in favor of specific lines on a map, because those do not reflect the potential mobile and changes in calving areas of caribou. I just wanted to make that clarification. Yeah, thanks, Luigi. Just so it s clear, it wasn t necessarily a criticism of any one party. It s a frustration, I guess, on my part as an observer to this, that while we continue to talk, we have a wide gulf in positions being presented. We need to narrow that gap, and we re not doing a very good job at it, I d suggest. This workshop may help narrow that gap, but there is still going to be something of a chasm, I suspect, at the end of it. I m going to call a break right now. We re going to try to reorganize the room so there is more space. We re going to try and get the phone line up and running, and we have a few minutes because of the Kivalliq Inuit Association deferring to tomorrow. So let s take 15 minutes and resume. BREAK Can you grab your seats please? The communication challenges remain. I know it s frustrating for everybody, and it ll be particularly frustrating for those who are trying to call in, but we ll do our best. Let s pick up on the agenda where we left off. Kivalliq Wildlife Board, who is speaking? Warren? Warren: Thank you, David. Warren for the KWB. Stanley Adjuk, our Chair, should be here in about 10 to 15 minutes. Could you maybe bump us down until he arrives? Yes, we can do that for sure. Kitikmeot Wildlife Board. Jackie? No, sorry. Peter. Planning Partner Perspectives Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board Opening Presentation Peter Kapolak: Okay, thank you. Peter Kapolak from KRWB. Our Chair couldn t be here today, so I m Co-Chair for the Kitikmeot Wildlife Board. In the past couple of years, the Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board has been very active in discussing caribou matters with a wide range of co-management partners. We have also met with representatives from our member HTOs. We have consistently heard concerns about mining exploration and mining that may occur on caribou calving grounds and water crossings. KRWB has heard that explorations that occur on caribou calving grounds in the Kitikmeot will not be supported by the HTOs and local communities. This position has been affirmed in discussions with the Elders. Protection of caribou habitat has never been more important, and we have 18

19 appreciated the Government of Nunavut s stance to protect caribou habitat. The covenant is to protect calving grounds and is supported by KRWB. We have participated in various discussions on caribou protection measures with organizations such as NPC, RWOs, HTOs, and Nunavut Wildlife Management Board. As you are aware, NPC is currently drafting a Land Use Plan in Nunavut, which involves a wide range of organizations, governments, and other interests from Nunavut and NWT. We cannot emphasize enough that caribou calving grounds in our regions need to be protected from exploration and development, especially water crossings. Caribou is the main diet of the Inuit, and its skin is used for clothing. Caribou are a vital part of Inuit culture, and we wish to ensure that Inuit have access to caribou for generations to come. Thank you on behalf of Simon. Thank you, Peter. Any questions? Observations? Alright, Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board. Planning Partner Perspectives: Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board Opening Remarks Jackie: Hello, Jackie Price with the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board. I ll be making a couple of remarks on behalf of the organization. Before I begin, I would just like to identify that I am a staff member of the organization. I do not sit on the Board. We were not able to get members of our Board to this meeting. But what I can do is I can pass on the direction I ve received from the Board, and this direction has been informed by multiple, multiple conversations with HTOs, be it the manager or the Board themselves. Just a couple of basic facts: HTOs are organizations recognized under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Their membership represents an extensive and important demographic of Inuit in Nunavut. Inuit beneficiaries over the age of 16 are HTO members. Conversations at the HTO Board level and therefore the Regional Wildlife Organization level, focuses extensively only wildlife, the environment, questions of protection, and harvesting. So we are well versed in these conversations, and they are at the forefront of everything that we do. Inuit want caribou protection. They want protected land areas. I m not extending myself by saying this. At the QWB AGM held in November 2015, the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board passed a resolution affirming their commitment and desire to have caribou grounds protected. The specific grounds included calving, post-calving, migration routes, and access corridors. I hope that is straightforward. The importance of this stance cannot be underestimated. Inuit have witnessed mining and development. They ve witnessed multiple projects across the region, and they ve witnessed the life of those projects, and their involvement and engagement with the environment well beyond the life of the project. In the Qikiqtaaluk, we draw on what we call three main caribou populations: Peary, Baffin Island, and the reindeer in Sanikiluaq. We are aware that various other organizations have created further subpopulations. QWB makes this strong stance on caribou grounds, even though within the GN submission to NPC no calving grounds were identified in the Plan. While not ideal, that doesn t 19

20 sway the organization s deep, deep belief that communities know those grounds and want those grounds protected. In preparation for the Public Hearing on this Draft Land Use Plan, QWB and we are working with co-management partners we are working to organize a workshop on caribou grounds in this region. We plan to have areas identified on a map in time for the mid-june deadline for the Public Hearing. This work will be further supported by ongoing communication with the HTOs to prepare them for the Public Hearing in November. As a staff member and as a witness to the multiple conversations that have occurred on caribou in the last year and prior, I will say that I cannot wait for this Public Hearing. As many of you will have already known, when you have that many community delegates in one place, the tone of the conversation will drastically, drastically change, and in my opinion for the better. So it s QWB s perspective to prepare for the Public Hearing and to provide whatever support the diverse range of community representatives need in order for them to speak as freely as they must at the Public Hearing. And in closing, my last point is that QWB would like to point out that this is a first generation plan. We don t have to have all the answers set in stone. I know concerns have been raised around the table already about concerns have been raised about the EM, the designation and the importance of having designations figured out right away this is not possible at this time. So it is QWB s opinion to err on the side of caution. We re not saying it has to stay like this forever. As NPC has repeated numerously at this meeting and at meetings in the past, revisions can happen. Conversations can continue past this first generation plan. So in fully knowing that ability is constantly there, we would recommend to err on the side of caution until we ve developed systems to better engage communities directly in this conversation, because I believe QIA made very important points about the level of engagement at the community level. And constant engagement with the communities should be a central goal of this Plan considering how important it is and how it does center around future development within Nunavut not just resource development but the development of people, communities, infrastructure, and everything. So thank you very much. Thank you, Jackie. Any questions for Jackie? Alright, we ll move on to World Wildlife Fund. Brandon? And Brandon, just before you speak, people have no doubt noticed that we re ahead of schedule. I ll continue to move forward fairly quickly. I m worried about tomorrow s weather. So the time we make up today, we may lose tomorrow. Brandon, please? Planning Partner Perspectives: World Wildlife Fund Opening Remarks Brandon: Hi, Brandon Laforest with WWF Canada here in Iqaluit. Thank you for having us here. I d like to start my comments they re short by reiterating part of Peter s opening remarks. It is important to first talk about caribou protection independent of Industry, as was the spirit at the NWMB workshop late last year. In that regard, I m encouraged to see NWMB here at the table and look forward to their contributions. 20

21 Of course, the goals of Industry need to enter the conversation, but caribou should be discussed independently first so we agree on the most conservation approach before undertaking a compromise that is necessary that will balance the well-documented needs of the territories to develop its natural resources. In that regard, it is important that the burden of proof be equal for those advocating for land-based restrictions on development, and those arguing for solely mobile protection measures, as well as conversations on the feasibly of both of these options. Arguments will be put forward demonstrating the need to employ Protected Areas and Special Management Areas in key caribou habitats for disturbance reasons. Direct evidence also needs to be put forward demonstrating that development of a mine in the middle of a calving ground will have little to no impact on the caribou in that area. These evidences can then be weighed along with considerations of values of Nunavummiut and goals of the territory. Habitat protection is not the only tool to conserve caribou, but it is definitely one tool among a suite of tools across the range and lifecycle of caribou. I d like to reiterate that habitat protection and mobile protection measures need not be exclusive of each other. The best measure for caribou in the territory will likely be a mixing of the two. Sharon spoke about how this is a first generation Land Use Plan, that the Plan can be amended and that exemptions can be applied for. It was mentioned this morning that the Plan will be reviewed at minimum, every 5 years. Given the current status of caribou and the concern expressed by HTOs, we feel, echoing Jackie that a precautionary approach needs to be undertaken. What s at stake? If a precautionary approach is undertaken in this first generation of the Land Use Plan, new projects in caribou calving grounds will be delayed or potentially not undertaken for now. The minerals will not disappear. The potential to develop those minerals will remain. What is at stake if we do not undertake a precautionary approach, is the potential for irreversible effects on the status and recovery of caribou herds in Nunavut. Our positions are found in our submissions to NPC, so I won t go over them. But we look forward to this discussion, and I again want to thank NPC for our inclusion in the discussion. Thanks very much. Thank you, Brandon. Any questions of Brandon? Then Kivalliq are you guys ready? Then the floor is yours. Planning Partner Perspectives: Kivalliq Wildlife Board Opening Perspectives Stanley A.:Thank you. Ublaahatkut. Good morning all of you. I am Stanley Adjuk, President of Kivalliq Wildlife Board, known as KWB. With me today I have Basil Quinangnaq and Warren Bernauer, and our Regional Coordinator couldn t make it out of Arviat yesterday. I m expecting her tomorrow Leah Muckpah. The Kivalliq Wildlife Board appreciates the opportunity to participate 21

22 in this workshop. The Kivalliq Wildlife Board is a Regional Wildlife Organization and responsible for supporting and representing the Hunters and Trappers in our region, known as HTOs. Our mandate outlining the Land Claims Agreement, focuses on wildlife management and harvesting for this region. We work closely with the Hunters and Trappers to fulfill this responsibility. Kivalliq Wildlife Board is made up of myself and the Chairs of the Kivalliq Hunters and Trappers Organizations. Caribou habitat conservation has been a major topic for our Board the Kivalliq Wildlife Board for a number of years now. We regularly discuss these issues at our Annual General Meetings and our Board meetings. The Board members bring the unique perspectives of their various communities. Kivalliq Wildlife Board has submitted recommendations to the Nunavut Planning Commission for the protection of caribou habitat. I ll hand out these comments so everyone has a copy. Kivalliq Wildlife Board recommends core calving grounds, core post-calving grounds, and water crossings on the mainland be designated Protected Areas. These areas should be fully protected from mining and exploration activities. Kivalliq Wildlife Board recommends caribou on Southampton and Coats Island be given seasonal protection during calving season until more information about calving grounds on these islands are available. Kivalliq Wildlife Board recommends caribou migration routes be designated Special Management Areas. These areas should have seasonal protection during migration season. Kivalliq Wildlife Board recommends implementing mobile protection measures in addition to the above-listed Protected and Special Management Areas. All explorations and mining companies should cease operations if caribou are nearby during calving, post-calving, rutting, and migration season. Our Board has been discussing the need for greater protection for calving and post-calving grounds at our meetings for years. We have passed Board resolutions opposing development in these areas at all of our recent Annual General Meetings. These resolutions were based on our knowledge as hunters, recommendations from Elders, recommendations from wildlife biologists, and recommendations from the Kivalliq HTOs who represent their communities. All of the mainland Hunters and Trappers Boards in the region have supported protecting calving grounds. Once our Regional Coordinator, Leah Muckpah, is in town, if anybody asks questions, she will be able to answer, as she has been dealing with this a lot along with Warren Bernauer. I want to give you a perspective from my home community of Whale Cove. Whale Cove is a community closest to the Qamanirjuaq calving grounds. It is practically right at our doorstep. The Elders in our community, they always taught us to respect the calving grounds. We are not to travel into calving grounds during calving season. We should stay out of there. We don t hunt females or calves during calving and post-calving seasons. Us hunters Inuk hunters we ve been taught by our Elders. We go along with our Elders all the time. A lot of us respect our Elders so we listen to Elders. The bulls that s bull hunting season, so we ve always been taught to protect the calving grounds. But it is hard to protect them when we are not in one place together. When I was the Chair of Whale Cove HTO back in 2013, we tried to get Anconia out of the Qamanirjuaq calving grounds, which helped a bit. The company was drilling right in the middle of 22