Implementation of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement Annual Review 1996-1997

1.1 Land Ownership

The Agreement provides the Inuvialuit with fee simple absolute title to approximately 91,000 square kilometres of land in the Western Arctic. This area includes approximately 13,000 square kilometres on which they have title to surface and subsurface rights. The Inuvialuit Settlement Region includes the North Slope of the Yukon Territory, the eastern half of the Beaufort Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean, Banks Island, much of the western part of Victoria Island and some of the Parry Islands (see map, Appendix 1).

1.2 Eligibility and Enrolment

Under the Agreement, an enrolment authority composed of one federal government and two Inuvialuit representatives enrol those who are entitled to benefit from the Agreement. The Inuvialuit maintain the official enrolment list.

1.3 Financial Compensation and Economic Measures

Under the provisions of the IFA, the Inuvialuit will receive a total of $152 million over 14 years, ending in 1997. The Agreement also provided for one-time payment, made in 1984, of $7.5 million to a fund to assist the Inuvialuit in social development and $10 million to the Economic Enhancement Fund.

Section 16 of the IFA addresses economic development in the settlement region. Its broad objectives are to provide for Inuvialuit participation in the northern Canadian economy and for Inuvialuit integration into Canadian society through economic development. Since 1984, the Economic Enhancement Fund has helped the Inuvialuit become more actively involved in the local economy and make long-term investments that will provide a solid base for future development.

The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the Department of Tourism and Economic Development of the Government of the Northwest Territories have established the Economic Measures Steering Committee to oversee the implementation of section 16. The Committee's purpose is to identify the types of issues and data required during a public review of section 16 scheduled for the year 2000. The Inuvialuit, the GNWT and DIAND jointly fund the Committee.

1.4 Wildlife and Environmental Co-management

Within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR), the Inuvialuit have extensive wildlife harvesting rights. They also have a mechanism for integrating their claims against developers for harvest losses and for providing compensation or remedial measures as required.

The Agreement established structures to ensure Inuvialuit participation in wildlife management, conservation and environmental protection in the ISR. These structures include community-based Inuvialuit Hunters and Trappers Committees (HTCs) and the Inuvialuit Game Council (IGC), which has representation from each HTC.

The Agreement also established five joint advisory bodies that have equal government and Inuvialuit representation.

• The Environmental Impact Screening Committee assesses whether proposed developments require detailed environmental impact assessments.
• The Environmental Impact Review Board carries out public reviews of development proposals deemed necessary by the EISC.
• The Fisheries Joint Management Committee advises the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on matters relating to fisheries and marine mammals in the ISR.
• The Wildlife Management Advisory Council - Northwest Territories advises government and other appropriate bodies on wildlife conservation matters in the Northwest Territories portion of the settlement region.
• The Wildlife Management Advisory Council - North Slope advises government and other appropriate bodies on wildlife conservation matters in the Yukon North Slope.

1.5 Inuvialuit Corporations

Under the Agreement, various Inuvialuit corporations administer and manage settlement funds, lands and other benefits, including the following:

• six Inuvialuit community corporations corresponding to the Inuvialuit communities in the ISR which are responsible for directing the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC);
• the IRC, comprising representatives from each of the six community corporations, responsible for co-ordinating Inuvialuit implementation activities;
• the Inuvialuit Land Corporation responsible for administering settlement lands; and
• the Inuvialuit Development Corporation and the Inuvialuit Investment Corporation responsible for carrying on business activities and investing settlement funds on behalf of the Inuvialuit.

1.6 Implementation Co-ordinating Committee

The Agreement established the Implementation Co-ordinating Committee, composed of designates of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The Committee has been inactive since 1989.

2.1 Inuvialuit Game Council

The Inuvialuit Game Council represents the Inuvialuit interest in wildlife. Council members review wildlife research proposals from the Canadian Wildlife Service and the renewable resource departments of both territorial governments for projects within the settlement region. They set funding priorities for these and other projects related to wildlife and the environment.

Apart from their regularly scheduled meetings, the council members and their appointed representatives have been busy this year at the local, regional, national and international levels. They worked closely with many organizations in representing the collective Inuvialuit interest on all matters relating to wildlife and the environment.

At the local and regional level, the Council participated in the official signing ceremonies for the creation of Tuktut Nogait National Park. Council members also attended management workshops concerning grizzly bear, caribou and beluga whale, and those concerning protection of the marine environment.

At the national level, many initiatives required the Council's consideration. These included consultation and presentations on the following issues: the Firearms Act and Regulations. Canadian Endangered Species Protection Act, Canadian Environmental Assessment and Protection Act, the ecological monitoring and assessment network, protected areas strategy and sustainable development strategy.

At the international level, the Council dealt with such things as the Wild Fur Coalition regarding the European ban on furs harvested with leg-hold traps. It was also involved in discussions regarding amendments to the Migratory Birds Convention Act and the Marine Mammals Protection Act (MMPA). This led to amendments to the MMPA that now permit the export of legally harvested polar bears to the United States.

The Council also sent representatives to international conferences, including the International Union of the Conservation of Nature Conference in Montreal, the International Wildlife Management Conservation meeting in Japan, and the community-based whaling workshop inBerkley, California, that led to the formation of the World Council of Whalers.

2.2 Hunters and Trappers Committees

Each of the six Inuvialuit communities of Inuvik, Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, Holman, Paulatuk and Sachs Harbour has a Hunters and Trappers Committee (HTC). Administrative and operational costs of the HTCs are the responsibility of the GNWT. In 1996-1997, the HTCs were active in several areas.

The Inuvik HTC worked with Community Harvesters Assistance Program funds to assist elders, other committee members and their families to go to whaling camps. The Committee purchased fish and harvested caribou to provide food to those who are unable to fish and hunt, and administered the beluga whale monitoring contracts for the 1996-1997 season.

The HTC reviewed the Town of Inuvik's application for a water licence. This review resulted in research on the effluent problems of the sewage lagoon. The HTC also met with the territorial Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to discuss tagging and monitoring research for caribou and beluga whales.

Other initiatives included search and rescue programs, Ikhil gas well tests and Suncor`s well abandonment program on Garry Island.

The Aklavik HTC, working through the Community Harvesters Assistance Program, helped people to go to their hunting, fishing or trapping camps and to make improvements to them.

The HTC participated in the beluga monitoring program and in research on the Big Fish River. It also participated in the successful harvest of a bowhead whale and its distribution to all the communities.

Tuktoyaktuk HTC members attended major workshops in Inuvik this year. These included the beluga management workshop, the Bluenose Caribou Management Plan and the workshop on traditional ecological knowledge of beluga whales. The HTC also participated in the beluga monitoring program in Tuktoyaktuk and Henderickson Island during the whale hunting season.

The Holman (Olokhatomiut) HTC participated in several projects including a char and seal monitoring program and a water sampling project for the Fisheries Joint Management Committee. It was also involved in environmental sensitivity mapping conducted by DIAND. The HTC participated in building two outpost camps for its members' use and conducted a community caribou and fish harvest for its members and elders.

The Paulatuk HTC participated in the signing ceremony for the Tuktut Nogait National Park. The HTC met with DIAND officials concerning the environmental sensitivity map. It also organized and managed the Aklavik muskox fact-finding trip with members from the Aklavik HTC. The harvesting and processing of muskoxen was included in the fact-finding venture.

Sachs Harbour HTC members attended three workshops held in Inuvik during 1996-1997. The HTC participated in the development of the Aulavik National Park Management Plan and developed a strategy for an annual commercial harvest of muskoxen. The HTC arranged with the Tuktovaktuk HTC for a caribou harvest on the mainland to provide meat for the residents of Sachs Harbour because the quota for Perry caribou remains at one per household.

3.1 Joint Secretariat

The Inuvialuit, GNWT and federal government established the Joint Secretariat to provide support services to the wildlife and environmental institutions of public government and to the Inuvialuit Game Council (IGC). The Secretariat administers funding for these institutions and provides administrative and technical support and functions as the focus for all information about their activities. It also performs the library and data collection duties of the Research Advisory Council.

The board held its regular board meeting and its annual general meeting in Yellowknife in June, as well as teleconferences in October 1996 and February 1997. During the February teleconference, the board appointed three representatives to the Inuvialuit Harvest Study Administrative Group. This administrative group will be responsible for the future conduct of a revised harvest study.

A seminar, "Two Ways of Knowing: Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge," was held in November 1996. Hunters, elders, resource managers and researchers from the United States, Canada, Greenland and Russia met in Inuvik. They discussed indigenous knowledge and prepared recommendations for its application in resource management and research. This seminar was a component of a pilot project about beluga indigenous knowledge undertaken under the auspices of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group. The FJMC sponsored the seminar and co-sponsored the Inuit Circumpolar Conference. DIAND provided financial support for the workshop.

The Geographic Information System specialist administered a contract sponsored by the WMACNWT to digitize and verify the sites described in the community conservation plans. Radar satellite images for the Beaufort Sea that relate to data from the beluga tagging project of 1995 were purchased. Vegetation mapping for the ISR began. The GIS specialist also worked on technology issues for the Joint Secretariat, HTCs and co-management boards. E-mail standards were developed, hardware purchased and access to the Internet arranged. Approximately 70 maps were produced for renewable resource committees, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and the Inuvialuit Land Administration (ILA). Development and implementation of effective digital data management have begun.

Other issues that the Joint Secretariat and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation staff worked on included developing the Harvester Assistance Program and improving the level of technical and administrative support to the HTCs. This support was accomplished by way of an ad hoc working group, which includes RWED staff.

Joint Secretariat staff also helped co-ordinate presentations by the international community, the Inuvialuit Game Council and the Gwich`'in Tribal Council to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and to the Canadian Polar Commission.

An ongoing issue that requires similar close co-operation involves reviewing and monitoring new legislation such as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Canadian Endangered Species Protection Act, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, and the Firearms Act and Regulations.

Joint Secretariat staff, FJMC and IGC representatives attended the annual meeting of the International Association of the Study of Common Property. They made presentations to the community-based whaling workshop held at Berkeley, California. These meetings initiated a process to create an international community-based whaling council.

Joint Secretariat staff participated in the annual workshop of the North Slope Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network and also in the long-term research planning exercise following the workshop. The Joint Secretariat also provided invaluable support to the IGC, WMAC-NWT and the FJMC by participating in the International Union of the Conservation of Nature General Assembly (World Conservation Congress).

Dr. Norman Snow is a member of the Technical Committee on Arctic Contaminants. At the request of the IGC and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Dr. Snow attended the science managers meeting and workshop in Yellowknife and the Northern Contaminants Program Annual Results Conference in Sidney, British Columbia.

The executive director attended the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy - Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Responses Working Group Meeting in Yellowknife as well as the experts workshop in Vancouver. From these meetings, a detailed outline for a circumpolar oil spill response guide was developed. This was passed to the working group for review and ratification. The executive director and chairperson of the IGC were invited as experts to participate in two national round tables on the environment and economy held in Ottawa. They both contributed to Canada's presentation on the oceans component of the Rio 5+ Exercise.

3.2 Arbitration Board

The IFA established the 11-member Arbitration Board as a quasi-judicial body to resolve disputes among the Inuvialuit, Canada and industry resulting from the IFA. The Board also has jurisdiction to arbitrate enrolment disputes arising from the publication of the official beneficiary enrolment list.

3.3 Environmental Impact Screening Committee

The Environmental Impact Screening Committee screens all development proposals within the settlement region to decide whether they require environmental impact assessment. If so, the proposals are referred by the Committee to the EIRB, or to other review bodies, for a public environmental impact assessment.

Forty-three project descriptions were screened during the eight meetings that the EISC held during 1996-1997. Of these project descriptions, the EISC decided that 18 would have no significant negative impact; therefore, it made no referrals for further environmental assessment or review.

The Committee decided that a number of the projects were exempt from screening. It deemed that 21 projects submitted by the FJMC were exempt because they had gone through the IFA comanagement process. In addition, a project from Frontec Corporation concerning refitting the refuelling facilities at the DEW (Distant Early Warning) line sites was exempted because it involved a project that had been previously screened by EISC and was an improvement to the existing system and practice.

3.4 Environmental Impact Review Board

• The Board corresponded with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to request that the Board process be substituted for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act review process for developments affecting the ISR, under section 44 of the Act. By February 1997, the preliminary draft Memorandum of Understanding between the EIRB and the Minister of the Environment concerning environmental assessment was prepared.
• The Board continued to review its operating procedures. These procedures are being revised to incorporate comments from the co-management groups that arose following the Driftwood Lumber Salvage Proposal review. Comments from Parks Canada and DIAND will be incorporated. The Board process will replace the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency process within the ISR.
• The Board reviewed progress in implementing the screening and review processes of the Gwich'in, Tungavik Federation of Nunavut and the Council of Yukon First Nations land claims. The Board also examined the manner in which adjacent land claim organizations plan to assess cumulative effects.
• In November 1996, DIAND asked the Board to clarify specific terms of its decision regarding the Driftwood Lumber Salvage Proposal review. The request followed an application by the proponent for applicable permits.
• The Board reviewed DIAND's Sustainable Development Strategy Discussion Paper and submitted comments in January 1997.

3.5 Wildlife Management Advisory Council - Northwest Territories

The Wildlife Management Advisory Council - Northwest Territories provides wildlife management advice pertaining to the Western Arctic region of the Northwest Territories to officials and organizations, including the federal and territorial ministers responsible for wildlife management, the EISC and the EIRB. It prepares wildlife conservation and management plans for the Western Arctic and recommends appropriate wildlife harvest quotas.

The Council reviews and advises the Canadian government on any proposed position affecting wildlife in the Western Arctic Region. To help the Council fulfil this mandate, members and staff participated in the following meetings during the fiscal year.

• John Bailey and Kevin McCormick participated in a workshop focussing on the integration of institutions of public government with the continental management of migratory birds. The Canadian Wildlife Service organized the workshop in anticipation of amendments to the Migratory Bird Convention requiring an increased role for Aboriginal people in the management of migratory birds.
• In October 1996. Andy Carpenter and Bruce Hanbidge attended the World Conservation Congress in Montreal with members of the IGC. They participated in discussions on a number of resolutions of importance to the Inuvialuit and to wildlife management in the Northwest Territories. These resolutions covered issues dealing with sustainable use of wildlife, trade in wildlife and the rights of Aboriginal people to harvest wildlife.
• In November 1996, Andy Carpenter and Frank Pokiak participated in the final workshop in Inuvik to review the Bluenose Caribou Management Plan.
• In January 1997. Herbert Felix, on behalf of the IGC, attended a conference in Saskatoon dealing with an ecological monitoring and assessment network sponsored by the Canadian Wildlife Service. This national network is of significance to ongoing wildlife management issues in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
• In January 1997, Andy Carpenter and Frank Pokiak attended a meeting of the Canadian Polar Bear Technical Committee in Edmonton to discuss issues affecting polar bear management in the western Canadian Arctic.
• In January 1997, Andy Carpenter, Frank Pokiak and representatives from the IGC and the other institutions of public government presented a joint submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development. The submission dealt with Bill C-65, An Act Respecting the Protection of Wildlife Species in Canada from Extirpation or Extinction.
• Andy Carpenter and Frank Pokiak attended a community workshop in Aklavik in February 1997, to participate in a review of the final draft of the ISR Grizzly Bear Management Plan.
• Herbert Felix and John Nagy attended two consecutive workshops in Whitehorse in February 1997. The first was an ecological monitoring and assessment network workshop sponsored by the Canadian Wildlife Service. This workshop dealt with the monitoring of environmental change on the Yukon North Slope. The second workshop dealt with the planning of long-term research priorities on the Yukon North Slope.

3.6 Wildlife Management Advisory Council - North Slope

The Wildlife Management Advisory Council - North Slope for the Yukon North Slope is the counterpart of the WMAC-NWT. The Council's responsibilities include establishing harvest quotas, advising Inuvialuit and government agencies on all North Slope wildlife and habitat conservation issues, reviewing proposals for IFA-funded research projects related to wildlife management, making recommendations to the IGC and advising the appropriate government ministers regarding management of parks in the North Slope.

3.7 Fisheries Joint Management Committee

The Fisheries Joint Management Committee assists the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in the management of fisheries, and provides advice on all matters affecting settlement region fisheries.

The FJMC works closely with government agencies, renewable resource user groups in the Inuvialuit communities, and other renewable resource boards in Canada and Alaska which oversee common migratory stocks. In keeping with the co-management philosophy of the IFA, consultation with local HTCs, the IGC, DFO and other government agencies was an important part of the Committee's activities in 1996-1997.

4 Federal and Territorial Governments

4.1 Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

4.2 Department of Fisheries and Oceans

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for making policy and regulatory changes to accommodate Inuvialuit rights concerning the harvest, trade, transport and co-management of fish and marine mammal resources in the settlement region, and for supporting the FJMC which was established by the IFA. Implementation funding has been provided to augment wildlife study programs in the settlement region.

4.3 Environment Canada

Environment Canada, through CWS, is represented on the wildlife management advisory councils which deal with all significant wildlife issues in the ISR.

The CWS is a member of the WMAC-NWT and the WMAC-NS for the ISR, and provides technical input into the Inuvialuit Harvest Study which is documenting the numbers of birds, mammals and fish taken by Inuvialuit. The information gathered during the study is intended for use in wildlife management, for calculating a compensation regime for loss of wildlife and habitat caused by industrial development in the ISR, and for determining the subsistence wildlife use and requirements of the Inuvialuit.

4.4 Canadian Heritage

Parks Canada is responsible for the protection of natural and cultural resources, including the wildlife populations and habitat of the two national parks in the ISR: Ivvavik National Park, in the western portion of the North Slope; and Aulavik National Park, on Banks Island.

4.5 Public Works and Government Services Canada

Public Works and Government Services Canada continued to advertise procurement opportunities on the Open Bidding Service and to meet the requirements of the IFA by notifying the Inuvialuit Regional Council of procurement opportunities within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

4.6 Department of National Defence

Headquarters Canadian Forces Northern Area communicates frequently with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and local communities, as required, in advance of Canadian Ranger, Cadet and southern-based Canadian military-unit training and exercises.

Most exercises performed in the Inuvialuit settlement area are in the form of Ranger patrols, Junior Ranger programs, and Cadet Corps activities. Current strengths are as follows:

Each patrol conducts Ranger training annually. Each exercise lasts two weeks and consists of a training phase within the local community followed by a four-day exercise in the local area. Exercises are conducted in different areas each year. For 1996-1997, the following Ranger exercises were scheduled:

Patrol leader training consists of a four- to seven-day classroom session in a designated community in the Western Arctic (not necessarily the Inuvialuit settlement area) conducted every two years. This training was last conducted in December 1996.

Cadets conduct local field training up to three times yearly. Cadet zone exercises include a number of cadet corps. These exercises include approximately 170 cadets and instructors. An exercise was conducted in October 1996, and a drill competition took place in Inuvik in November 1996.

Sovereignty operations are conducted five times a year. These consist of local Ranger patrols augmented by up to 120 personnel from southern-based units. A very successful SOVOPS exercise was conducted at Holman in January 1997.

Flying exercises are conducted from Forward Operating Locations which include Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Inuvik and Yellowknife. Up to six aircraft and 200 personnel are deployed for large exercises while smaller exercises involve two aircraft and 50 to 60 personnel. Fighter Group conducts one FOL exercise annually at the Inuvik FOL. The last exercise was conducted in April 1996.

There are eight unmanned north warning sites, and one logistic support site within the ISR. The operation and maintenance of the north warning site is a joint venture between Frontec Logistics Corporation of Edmonton and Pan Arctic Logistics Corporation, an organization made up of four Inuit groups one of which is the Inuvialuit people.

4.7 Government of the Northwest Territories

Under the terms of the IFA, the Government of the Northwest Territories is responsible for appointing the chairperson and GNWT members; providing a secretariat for the WMAC-NWT; providing the administrative and operational costs of the IGC and of the six community HTCs; designating a member to each of the EISC, the EIRB, the Arbitration Board and the Research Advisory Council (RAC); and providing the budget for the operation and maintenance of the RAC. The RAC now dispenses funds to the Joint Secretariat for the provision of library services. The GNWT provides funding to the Joint Secretariat for technical and administrative support to the various IFA boards.

4.8 Government of the Yukon

The Yukon Territorial Government is responsible for appointing the chairperson and a Yukon member to the WMAC-NS; designating a member each to the EISC and the EIRB, the Arbitration Board and the Research Advisory Council; operating Herschel Island Territorial Park; and co-ordinating the Yukon North Slope Conference. The YTG also allocates implementation funding to ongoing wildlife research on the Yukon North Slope and for participation on the EISC, the EIRB and the Arbitration Board.