Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee Endorses Inuit-Crown Co-Development Principles

From: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

News release

December 2, 2022 — Ottawa, Ontario — Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

Members of the Inuit–Crown Partnership Committee (ICPC) met in Ottawa yesterday to advance shared priorities intended to create a more prosperous Inuit Nunangat through meaningful collaboration.

Inuit leadership and federal ministers marked another milestone in that relationship through the endorsement of Inuit-Crown Co-Development Principles. The Principles are intended to be implemented and adhered to by Inuit and all federal partners engaged in co-development initiatives.

The principles are premised on respect and support for Inuit rights to self-determination and participation in decision-making affecting Inuit, and are consistent with and intended to help implement the Inuit Nunangat Policy and United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples. They are intended to be applied to all ongoing and future co-development initiatives, including distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation.

The December 1 meeting, co-chaired by the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and Natan Obed, President of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, also focused on ongoing ICPC work related to Inuit Land Claims Implementation, the implementation of the Inuit Nunangat Policy, and Inuktut Revitalization. ICPC members endorsed the committee’s Inuit Nunangat Housing Strategy Implementation Plan, as well as its International Inuit Priorities workplan.

The ICPC advances work on shared priority areas between Inuit and the federal government. The Committee reflects a shared commitment to a renewed Inuit–Crown relationship and reconciliation based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership.

Participants at today’s meeting included:

  • Natan Obed, President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
  • Duane Smith, Chair and CEO, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
  • Aluki Kotierk, President, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated
  • Johannes Lampe, President, Nunatsiavut
  • Pita Aatami, President, Makivvik
  • Lisa Koperqualuk, President, Inuit Circumpolar Council
  • Gerri Sharpe, President, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada
  • Brian Pottle, President, National Inuit Youth Council
  • Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Canada
  • Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs Canada
  • Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services Canada
  • David Lametti, Minister of Justice
  • Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport
  • Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage
  • Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board

Quotes

“I am proud of the progress we are making towards building a prosperous future for Inuit in Canada. Tools such as the Inuit Nunangat Policy, and now the Inuit-Crown Co-Development Principles provide a framework for us to advance our work and to make progress on key deliverables that have the potential to transform the Inuit-Crown partnership.”

Natan Obed
President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

“I am pleased that the Principles of Co-Development were officially endorsed. These principles will become a model not just for Inuit but people across Canada. I look forward to our continued collaboration as we work together with Inuit leaders in the spirit of reconciliation.”

The Honourable Marc Miller
Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations

Quick facts

  • On April 21, 2022, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and President Natan Obed of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, alongside federal Cabinet ministers and the elected Inuit leadership from the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, Makivvik, and the Nunatsiavut Government, endorsed the new, historic Inuit Nunangat Policy at a meeting of the ICPC. This marks the first time the Government of Canada has co-developed an overarching, whole-of-government policy of this nature.

  • The Inuit Nunangat Policy outlines an approach for the design and renewal of all federal policies, programs, services, and initiatives that apply in Inuit Nunangat or benefit Inuit. This approach will improve coordination across Inuit Nunangat and ensure engagement with Inuit in these processes.

  • The Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee was founded on the principle that an equal partnership between Inuit and the Crown is essential to the reconciliation process.

  • The Committee meets three times a year and is chaired by President Natan Obed, of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. Once a year, the ICPC meeting is chaired by President Obed and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

  • The Committee also includes as permanent participants the presidents of Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada, the National Inuit Youth Council, and Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada.

  • Inuit Nunangat is the Inuit homeland in Canada. It encompasses the land, water, and ice of the Inuit land claim regions of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest Territories and Yukon, Nunavut, Nunavik in Northern Quebec, and Nunatsiavut in Northern Labrador.

Associated links

Contacts

For more information, media may contact:

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
media@itk.ca

Aissatou Diop
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Marc Miller
Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations
aissatou.diop@rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca

Media Relations
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
819-934-2302
RCAANC.media.CIRNAC@sac-isc.gc.ca

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