NTI 2 colour logo PMS 541 Blue PMS 124 Yellow Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. A Series of Informational Presentations

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) is holding information sessions about current Inuit issues for the local and international media during the G7 meetings on Feb. 4 and 5, 2010. The sessions will be held in the NTI Iqaluit boardroom located on the third floor of the Igluvut Building (Royal Bank Building).

For more information, please contact NTI Director of Communications Franco Buscemi by email [email protected] or call 867-975-4939.

NTI is the organization that represents Inuit under the NLCA. NTI’s mission is to foster Inuit economic, social and cultural well-being through the implementation of the NLCA. NTI implements Inuit obligations in the NLCA, and ensures that other parties to the NLCA meet their obligations.

1. The State of Inuit Culture and Society

Feb. 4, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Natan Obed Virginia Lloyd

This session will focus on the current social realities of Inuit in Nunavut, especially in relation to the general Canadian population. In addition to a general introduction to Inuit culture, information will be provided on educational outcomes, life expectancy, health conditions, housing, social indicators, and language. Trends will be shown and the challenges outlined that must be addressed.

2. Building a New Relationship

Feb. 4, 3:30- 4:30 p.m.

Alastair Campbell David Kunuk John Merritt

Aboriginal Peoples of Canada have seen the negotiation of land claims agreements as providing the foundation for a new relationship with the Canadian government. The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, signed in 1993, is a prime example of these expectations. However, the government’s track record on implementation has been dismal, prompting a court case that was launched by NTI in 2006. A new approach to the implementation of land claims agreements is needed. NTI 2 colour logo PMS 541 Blue PMS 124 Yellow Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. A Series of Informational Presentations

3. Sovereignty and Arctic Exiles

Feb. 5, 10–11 a.m.

John Amagoalik Franco Buscemi John Merritt

By 1950, Canadian officials were concerned about Arctic sovereignty and the Cold War and wished to find a way to settle permanent residents in the east Arctic archipelago. Knowing that Inuit on the Ungava Peninsula of northern Quebec were having an increasingly difficult time surviving as subsistence hunters, the Canadian government’s solution involved relocating Inuit families to Ellesmere Island. The relocations served the government’s sovereignty agenda, but were achieved through enormous physical and emotional hardship on the families involved. Government actions violated the human rights of the Inuit involved, including rights recognized in international law at the time. A public and formal apology is needed.

4. Wildlife

Feb. 5, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Paul Irngaut Glenn Williams

A discussion of Nunavut wildlife with particular reference to international issues relating to polar bears, seals and ice.

5. Nunavut Inuit in the World Environment

Feb. 5, 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Alastair Campbell Andrew Dunford

The 2009 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen greatly disappointed those hoping for an international agreement to reduce emissions and control global warming. This session will briefly sketch out the issues and indicate how climate change is affecting and can in future be expected to further impact circumpolar global regions. Global inaction is not an acceptable option.