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Parks and the IIBA

On May 13 2002, Premier Paul Okalik, accompanied by former Department of Sustainable Development Minister Olayuk Akesuk, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) President Cathy Towtongie, and the Presidents of each of the Kivalliq, Kitikmeot and Qikiqtani Regional Inuit Associations formally approved an Umbrella Inuit Impact and Benefits Agreement (IIBA) for territorial parks.

The completion of the IIBA meets an obligation under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. It will formalize the role of Inuit in joint park management and planning, both at a territorial and community level, and it will ensure a productive partnership between the government and Inuit for the development and implementation of the Nunavut Parks Program.

Highlights of the agreement include:

• The development of Inuit tourism strategies and the creation of training programs and funding initiatives targeted to build Inuit tourism expertise and capacity.
• Protection of Inuit rights to continued land use for harvesting, outpost camps, carving stone and other purposes.
• Ensuring that Inuit within communities throughout Nunavut are involved in the selection, establishment and management of territorial parks.
• Ensuring the protection and greater appreciation of the archaeological, cultural and natural heritage of the territory.
• Ensuring the involvement of youth and the incorporation of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and oral history along with conventional knowledge into park management.
• Promoting greater Inuit involvement in the delivery of goods and services needed for the establishment and operation of Nunavut's park program.

The signed agreement concludes two years of negotiations, and has established procedures and mechanisms for Parks and Tourism that will replace interim protocol agreements on park capital planning and development, and allow us to again work with communities in establishing and developing parks in areas that are meaningful and important to them, and that protect and interpret Nunavut's natural, cultural, and recreational heritage.