Nunavik leaders present Parnasimautik report to Plan Nord committee

Nunavik leadersmet with the Plan Nord Ministerial Committee in Quebec City Wednesday to present theParnasimautikConsultation Report, Nunavik's reply to the province's 20-year plan for development in the region.

"We hadgood dialogue with the ministers present,"saidJobieTukkiapik, president ofMakivikCorporation.

"They repeatedly mentioned that their PlanNordcannot go aheadwithout the First Nations and Inuiton board."

More than 13 ministers attended the meeting, including GeoffreyKelley, Quebec's minister responsible for Native Affairs, as well as well asJean Boucher, MNA for Ungava, andGuy Bourgeois,MNA forAbitibi-Est.QuebecPremierPhilippeCouillardjoined them for a dinner at the endof the day.

Parnasimautik(Let's Prepare)wasthe outcome of public consultation in all 14 Inuit communities in Northern Quebec, withInuitlivingin Chisasibi and Montreal, and with the Naskapi of Kawawachikamach.It proposes a vision for the economic and social development of Nunavik.

"It gives a sense of where we, as Nunavimmiut, want to be going forward...that's why it's called Let's Prepare," said Tukkiapik.

Makivik Corporation's mandate is to protect the rights provided by the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement and the 2008 Nunavik Inuit Land Claim Agreement.

"There are areas that we want protected because we heavily rely on the land for sustenance," he said.

Nunavik leaders from Makivik and several other organisations, including the Nunavik Board of Health and the Nunavik Landholding Corp Association, expressed special concern over the projected mining exploration on their territory.

"A lot of the times it's someone coming in to take the resources out, without the Inuit benefiting from that," said Tukkiapik.

Leaders also discussed the housing crisis affecting Nunavik. Overall, Tukkiapik says the meeting was positive, and points out that mentalities have evolved a lot since Premier Robert Bourassa walked out on Inuit Leaders 40 years ago.