Inuit leaders meeting with federal cabinet ministers on Arctic foreign policy

By Nick Murray, The Canadian Press on November 8, 2024.

President of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Natan Obed, joins Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as they co-chair the meeting of Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee in Ottawa on Thursday, May 9, 2024. Inuit leaders are meeting with federal cabinet ministers today to iron out the final details of their submissions to Canada's Arctic foreign policy.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA – Inuit leaders are meeting with federal cabinet ministers today to iron out the final details of their submissions on Canada’s new Arctic foreign policy.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is expected to attend the latest Inuit-to-Crown partnership committee meeting.

In June, Joly said Canada was readying an Arctic foreign policy to prepare for a more tense period in international relations.

Natan Obed, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami which represents Canada’s 70,000 Inuit, says he hopes the policy will inform and shepherd Canada’s relationship with Inuit toward international partners.

Obed says Inuit are looking for distinct language in the policy that recognizes all Inuit regions in Canada, and not just those above the 60th parallel.

The Inuit-to-Crown partnership committee is a roundtable formed in 2017 where Inuit leaders meet with cabinet ministers three times a year to discuss priorities in Inuit Nunangat.

One meeting a year is co-chaired by the prime minister, though he won’t be at today’s meeting.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.