Question Period Note: Nunavut Planning Commission

Our government believes that the environment and the economy go hand in hand.
The Commission has been working for more than 10 years to develop a land use plan for Nunavut that is acceptable to all parties to the Nunavut Agreement.
We recognize the importance of the timely completion of a land use plan that balances the interests of all Nunavummiut.

• The Nunavut Planning Commission began work on a Nunavut-wide land use plan in 2007. After releasing a fourth Draft Nunavut Land Use Plan in June 2016, a regional public hearing was held in Iqaluit in March 2017. The two remaining regional public hearings were put on hold to address substantive issues with plan content and the adequacy of the planning process.
• The Nunavut Planning Commission re-opened the public record in July 2018 for further comments on the 2016 draft Plan. The Nunavut Planning Commission has decided to finish consultations on the 2016 draft Plan through community engagement sessions in the Kitikmeot and Kivalliq regions in November 2019 and January 2020. A revised Plan will be drafted following these consultation sessions.
• The Nunavut Planning Commission is funded on an annual basis by Canada per the Nunavut Agreement. In 2019-2020, CIRNAC is providing the Nunavut Planning Commission with a core budget allocation of $5.5 million and $1.4 million in supplementary funding to complete the community engagement sessions and begin redrafting the Plan. Supplementary funding is granted based on availability and cannot be guaranteed for future years.

If pressed on Funding

A land use plan in Nunavut must involve communities, governments, other stakeholders and, most importantly, the people who live and hunt on the land.
We will continue to work with the Nunavut Planning Commission to ensure that Nunavummiut are meaningfully consulted on the draft plan.