P.O. Box 360 , NU X0B 0E0 Telephone: (867) 982-3310 Fax: (867) 982-3311 www.kitia.ca

February 3, 2015

Kugluktuk Canadian High Arctic Research Station P.O Box ᖁᕐᓗᖅᑐᖅ , NU X0B 0C0

Bathurst Inlet Via Email: Kingaok ᕿᙵᐅᓐ Re: Letter of Support for Drs. Jennifer Galloway and Tim Patterson research project - Geoscience Tools for Supporting Environmental Risk Assessment of Metal Mining Bay Chimo Umingmaktok Dear Proposal Reviewer: ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃᑑᖅ The mandate of the Kitikmeot Association (KIA) is “to represent the interests of Kitikmeot Inuit by protecting and promoting our social, cultural, political, environmental and economic well- Cambridge Bay being.” As such, the KIA promotes sustainable development benefiting our people, our region, and our territory. Currently, however, regional geochemical baseline data is very limited in the Ikaluktutiak Arctic, and this restricts the ability to develop the most appropriate monitoring guidelines and ᐃᖃᓗᒃᑑᑦᑎᐊᖅ remediation targets for land development.

The KIA supports the proposal submitted by Drs. Jennifer Galloway and Tim Patterson for several reasons. Firstly, the proposal addresses critical knowledge gaps regarding climate change and Okhoktok baseline geochemistry in the Slave Geological Province. Secondly, once understood, these gaps have the potential to facilitate the translation of new data and the development of geoscience ᐅᖅᓱᖅᑑᖅ tools to inform and support decision-makers. We are particularly pleased that the proposed research is planned in the vicinity of the Hope Bay project as this will help establish pre- development geochemical baseline for this region of high resource potential. ᑕᓗᕐᔪᐊᕐᒃ The KIA is pleased that the team includes federal, territorial, community, industry, academic, First Nations, and Inuit collaborators. The proposed research has the potential to bridge the gap between Canadian decision-makers who need to know how resource development and climate change will impact Northern environments. The integration of traditional knowledge and scientific methods in this proposal will promote mutual appreciation for different ways of interpreting ᑰᒑᕐᔪᒃ environmental change. We are pleased that this proposal will provide training and employment opportunities to local people and will include regular community workshops.

In closing, the KIA supports the proposed research project as this project has the potential to serve the interests of Kitikmeot Inuit.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey Clark, M.Sc., MBA Kitikmeot Inuit Association Director of Lands, Environment, and Resources

Affiliates: Tungavik Inc., Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, Kitikmeot Corporation