After a decade of consultations Nunavut's land use plan moves into final hearings

The final round of public hearings on Nunavut's land use plan begin this morning in Iqaluit.

The plan will lay out what parts of the territory areopen for exploration andresource development, and what areas are protected.

It will provide "certainty" to Nunavummiut about the future of the land, says Sharon Ehaloak,the executive director of the Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC), the body overseeing the plan's development.

Groups attending the hearing, which is scheduled to run until Sunday, willweighin on the third draft of the plan, released in June 2016.

• New draft Nunavut land use plan protects core caribou habitat

Previous drafts of the plan were completed in 2012 and 2014.

More time for review

With significant changesto the plan between the 2014 and 2016 drafts,some participants say more time is needed for the review.

"Our primary concern is that the hearing is taking place at all. We've asked for the process to be delayed to allow an appropriate amount of time for consultation," said Elizabeth Kingston, general manager for Nunavut of the N.W.T. and Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

The NPC has, however,already changed timelines more than once.

After receiving requests from the NunavutAssociation of Municipalities, the NPC extended the Jan. 13 deadline for municipalities to provide written submissions.

The planning commission also changed the final hearing from one session in Iqaluit to three regional hearings taking place throughout the year.

"We're sensitive to have a more focused approach and to allow more time closer to individual regions, so people have the opportunity to ensure their voice is heard," Ehaloak said.

The regional hearings for Kivalliq will be held in Rankin Inlet in June and the Kitikmeot hearings will be held in Cambridge Bay in October.

Format of hearing questioned

At this week's hearing in Iqaluit, most participants will get 20 minutes to speak. TheGovernments of Canada and Nunavut, and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc, which will each havean hour.

Kingston says the Chamber of Mines would prefer it if the hearings wereorganized around topics, instead of just proceeding party by party.

She says that way economic developmentcould be weighed fairly with the desire to protect the environment.

"I think it's all in how you ask the question...You're saying to the community, 'here's a particular area of land, would you like to see this protected for caribou and wildlife?' And of course, the community, anybody's going to come back and say'well yes we want to see that protected'. But what we feel is happening is the other question is not being asked."

On the other hand, Meeka Kiguktak, mayor of Grise Fiord, is happy with the process.

She says she worked with NPC consultants who've visited the hamlet to develop a map that reflects the community's interests.

"The residents of Grise Fiord are not usually in favour of mining, or anything like that, oil and gas," she said.

"Because we depend on our country food. Our main source for meals is seal meat, caribou, fish, clams, birds, geese."

She says mine proposals near her community have been in caribou calving areas, which she says are important to protectfor future generations.

"Because of the high cost of food coming from down South, we can't always depend on that and plus we all know it's healthier, it's nutritious."

The NPC commissioners will review all the information presented at the three hearings and a final land use plan is expected in 2018.

The hearings were expected to start on Tuesday, but weather conditions delayed many of the participants' arrival and the hearings were postponed for a day.