Inuit leaders Tackle Resource Development Debate

Inuit leaders from around the circumpolar world are hoping to reach a consensus on Arctic mining and offshore oil and gas development at a summit this week in Ottawa.

The Inuit Circumpolar Council has brought together leaders from Canada, Russia, Alaska and Greenland for the resource development summit, which began Wednesday and runs through Thursday.

Offshore oil and gas development and mining — especially uranium mining — are contentious issues in the Arctic, and Inuit leaders have disagreed on what should be allowed and what should not be allowed.

“I’m sure there will be disagreements or agreements. That’s a natural process and we need to do that,” Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami in Canada, told CBC News.

“We need to bring these things out in the open, talk about them, and then come to some kind of a conclusion in terms of how we’re going to deal with it.”

Looking for consensus

While Inuit have generally agreed that they must be consulted on economic development in the North — and benefit from it — leaders have differed on what should get their support or not.

For example, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the Inuit land-claims organization in Nunavut, supports uranium mining despite the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s longtime opposition to it.

Greenland has recently been pushing for offshore oil and gas development, raising concerns elsewhere about the impacts of such development on wildlife and the environment.

“In whatever resource development we are engaged in, we have to think of the health of people, the environment and also employment,” said Aqqaluk Lynge, the international chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council.

Simon said she will present specific positions and hopes Inuit leaders will reach a consensus by the end of the summit.