Using Our Resources

NORTHERN VOICES Using our resources Premier Eva Aariak The Premier spoke at the 12th Annual Arctic Oil and Gas Symposium in Calgary, Alberta on March 14, 2012. t is wonderful to be here with you in Calgary. investments flow to suppliers in all ten of the south- When I look around at this dynamic city, it is ern provinces. They flow to dock workers at the ports aImazing to consider that just a century ago - before of Montreal and Delta B.C. handling shipments on the oil boom—Calgary was a frontier town of their way North. They flow to southern construction roughly 7,000 people. That’s where Nunavut’s capi- workers who are helping to build the territory. So tal—Iqaluit—is today. any investment in Nunavut sees immediate pay-backs Like Calgary a hundred years ago, Iqaluit is on across this wonderful country. But there are longer- the cusp of great change. And our natural wealth term dividends, too. What we are building is a self- will be driving its transformation. Calgary is a testa- reliant economy that contributes to the wealth of the ment to what is possible. As Nunavut looks to the fu- nation. ture we aim to play an important role in Canada’s ᓇᒻᒥᓂᖅᒪᑭᑕᔪᓐᓇᕐᓂᖅ is an Inuktitut efforts to supply reliable and responsible energy to expression that means to provide for one’s own the global economy. It is with this sense of optimism wellbeing. This is one of the most cherished Inuit that I stand with Premier Redford in her calls for a values from our traditional way of life. Nunavut’s oil Canada-wide energy strategy. and gas reserves could be the ticket to achieving our Some have asked, ‘What will the Canadian En- dreams of renewed self-reliance. But, first, ergy Strategy look like?’ and ‘Why do we need one?’ Nunavummiut have to be convinced that the benefits Let me tell you that Nunavut provides some of the of oil development outweigh the risks to our best reasons for a Canada-wide approach to energy. environment. Nunavut is the future of the Canadian energy sector. The people of Nunavut have lived off the Our territory makes up one fifth of Canada. It is es- bounty of the seas for countless generations. What I timated that we hold 20 to 25 percent of Canada’s am talking about here runs much deeper than an oil and gas resources. Right now this enormous re- emotional attachment. Nunavummiut understand source is quietly sitting untapped. that our connection to the environment is Unlocking the billions of dollars of potential de- fundamentally about survival. For thousands of years mands action in the form of a committed, decade- our hunters and their families struggled against its long effort to build the infrastructure that will harshness. And they depended on its extraordinary integrate Nunavut into Confederation. Canadians ability to provide food, clothing and shelter. The fish, built this country from east to west. But our work whales and seals that come from the seas continue to isn’t finished. Right now not a single road, railway, provide food security to our growing communities. pipeline or deep-sea port connects Nunavut to the Today, we also know—first hand—how rest of this wonderful country. vulnerable this environment is. Much of the world When it comes to energy, we need a more expan- has seen satellite images of the shrinking polar ice sive vision that goes beyond new pipelines in the cap. From our perspective - on the ground - in West. It is time to turn our eyes North to build an en- Nunavut - this has real consequences for our way of ergy exporting network that stretches from sea to sea life that was built around sea ice. We are seeing to sea. This is a national project aimed at nothing less changes in our weather and wildlife that are out of than completing the map of Canada. But I also say whack with thousands of years of Inuit knowledge this project is national because all Canadians will and observation. As ice conditions become more enjoy the fruits of the investments that are made. erratic and unpredictable, Nunavut hunters are You know, right now about 80 percent of any in- literally falling through the ice, year after year. vestment in Nunavut’s infrastructure—be it housing, The vulnerability that comes with these changes airports or mines—flows to southern Canada. These make Nunavummiut more sensitive to the possible 16 Northern Public Affairs, Spring 2012 t u v a n u N f o t n e m n r e v o G : t i d e r c o t o h P Premier Eva Aariak risks associated with a serious oil spill. This is not to Alberta entered Confederation before it achieved say that Nunavummiut are opposed to oil and gas control over its land and resources from the federal development. We continue to prepare for a future government? I would like to think we have learned a with oil and to push for the highest levels of safety thing or two since then, because Nunavut’s quickly and emergency response. Beyond this, though, growing population cannot afford to wait that long. Nunavummiut have to be convinced that the benefits One issue that has to be tackled is the ownership outweigh the risks. And this cannot happen so long of seabed resources between the Arctic Islands. The as the federal government makes all the decisions and same waters on which Nunavummiut fish, hunt and claims all the benefits. travel as they have for millennia. The seabed between Just like the southern provinces, Nunavut must the Arctic islands and the resources under it rightfully be a full partner in oil and gas development within belong to Nunavummiut and should be recognized our boundaries and our offshore. And—just like as part of Nunavut. Canadians living in the southern provinces— If Canada were to do this and transfer control Nunavummiut must be the prime beneficiaries of the of seabed resources to Nunavut, it would bolster the revenues and benefits that come from that sovereignty argument - that these waters—including development. the Northwest Passage—are waters that are internal Let me be clear—when it comes to oil and gas— to Canada. And it would give investors clarity and Nunavummiut expect nothing less than what was certainty about who owns these resources. granted to the people of Newfoundland and Since 2008, Nunavut has been ready to begin Labrador. And, no oil and gas development should negotiations on devolution. And we have waited— go ahead in Nunavut until a joint management and patiently—for the federal government to get to the resource sharing agreement is in place. This table. But with every month and year that this process discussion hasn’t happened yet. Twelve years after drags on, the day when our oil goes into production the creation of our territory, the federal government gets pushed farther into the future. continues to control all resource development in Provincial control of resources is a fundamental Nunavut—not just under our seabed but on our principle behind Confederation that is enshrined in Crown Lands that make up 80 percent of our our Constitution. It should be at the very core of any territory. Canadian Energy Strategy. But this strategy must do Do you know it took a quarter century after more. I add my voice to those who say that the Northern Public Affairs, Spring 2012 17 Canada-wide energy strategy must also be about mine - 100 km out on the taiga from Yellowknife. Yes, providing energy security to Canadians—especially there is a business case to be made for renewable off- those living in remote regions. grid energy in the North. You know, there is an energy divide in this It’s time to revive Prime Minister Diefenbaker’s country that is scarcely talked about. It separates dream of roads to resources. A road from Manitoba North from south. Down here, most homes and into Nunavut would move goods and resources in businesses are powered from clean, Canadian- and out of the territory. And, it would also make sourced energy in the form of hydro, nuclear power possible large scale hydro development. Not only and natural gas. On the other side of the energy could we power some of our own communities, we divide, there is another reality. could export 4,000 megawatts through the North In each of Nunavut’s 25 communities there is an American power grid. aging diesel-fired plant that is providing all the power. I would like to be able to stand here today and The same goes for the remote parts of the southern say that Nunavut is charging ahead with these provinces. Even in Northern Quebec, in the shadow exciting projects. But until Nunavummiut can control of massive hydro developments, communities are our future through our lands and resources, it is the federal government Nunavummiut should be able to provide energy—not only to the that holds the keys to Nunavut’s energy global market—but also to our own communities. As Canadians, potential. So the we have the technology, we have the know-how, and we have the federal government must be a part of any capital to make it happen. Canadian Energy Strategy. And yet, my powered by diesel. There are at least 300 of these hope is that the provinces and territories will lead it. communities in Canada. We have a choice to make. We can continue to This leaves some of this country’s poorest bumble along in a piecemeal and haphazard fashion.

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