Question Period Note: Nunavut Land Use Plan

N.A.

• The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of a Land Use Plan for Nunavut that supports economic development and key habitat conservation in Nunavut and for Nunavummiut.
• A Land Use Plan for Nunavut is a key requirement of the Nunavut Agreement and also a significant step toward streamlining regulatory and co-management decision-making in Nunavut.
• Getting it right is key, and the federal government is conducting Crown consultations and working in close collaboration with co-management partners, the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, to guide this important decision.

N.A.

If pressed on funding, engagement, and timing
• The development of a Nunavut-wide plan, ongoing since 2007, has involved communities, governments, Indigenous organizations, industry and, most importantly, the people who live and hunt on the land.
• Since 2015, Crown – Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) has provided $16.4 million of supplemental funding to the Nunavut Planning Commission to support development and public review of the Plan, in addition to annual core funding.
• There are no legislated timelines to make a decision. Canada is coordinated and prepared to move forward on the Nunavut Land Use Plan at a pace that respects the intent of co-management partners. An approved plan will provide certainty for proponents and enable key initiatives to progress quickly to regulatory review.