Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is a very important day for the Inuvialuit people of Inuvik and the Beaufort-Delta region; in fact, throughout all of Canada. On this day 29 years ago, June 5, 1984, in the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, the Government of Canada and the Inuvialuit gathered on the shores of the Beaufort to sign the Inuvialuit Final Agreement.
The Inuvialuit Final Agreement was built in the hopes and hard work of the many involved, and its continued success is attributed to the ongoing dedication of the Inuvialuit. The IFA was the first comprehensive land claim agreement signed north of the 60th parallel, and only the second in Canada at that time. Approved by the Canadian Parliament as the Western Arctic Claims Settlement Act, it took precedence over the acts inconsistent with it. The act was also protected under the Canadian Constitution, in that it cannot be changed by the Parliament without the approval of the Inuvialuit.
Today marks the 29th anniversary of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. I would like to take this time to wish the Inuvialuit people of Inuvik and throughout the Beaufort-Delta region, the NWT and Canada, a great day of celebrations and a happy Inuvialuit Day. I would also like to thank the Inuvialuit regional leadership for their ongoing commitment and the support to the development of the Beaufort-Delta region.
The Inuvialuit are a very integral part of what makes Inuvik Inuvik and the Beaufort-Delta what it is. They have a world-renowned dance group, world-renowned arctic sports demonstrators, and strong ambassadors that continue to meet at the international level. They have a culture that is thriving as we see both the youth and elders continue to practice traditional ways of life. They have a strong language program, and that is proven with the launching of the book “Taimani” in February of 2012, which illustrates the timeline of the history of the Inuvialuit, and actually goes to support the development of the Inuvialuit as a culture and society.
I am very proud and very honoured to stand in the House today to wish the Inuvialuit of the community of Inuvik and the Beaufort-Delta a very happy Inuvialuit Day and I wish them all the best in the future. I wish them all successes that they are pursuing in the future, as well as greater achievements and successes in their future endeavours. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Before we continue on, colleagues, I’d like to welcome back former Member Sam Gargan, former MLA for Deh Cho; and Leon Lafferty, former Member for Monfwi. Welcome back to the House.
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Also, I’d like to welcome Yellowknives Dene First Nation Chief Eddie Sangris – welcome to the House, Eddie – Chief Clifford Daniels from Behchoko, our Grand Chief Eddie Erasmus, welcome. From the Tlicho, grand chief, and the Gwich’in Tribal Council vice-president Mr. Norman Snowshoe. Welcome to the House.
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The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Along with my colleague from Inuvik Boot Lake, I want to stand today to recognize the 29th anniversary of the Inuvialuit land claim. The signing of the land claim was a historic moment back in 1984, and I think we owe our gratitude to the people that negotiated, the Committee of Original Peoples Entitlement, or COPE as it was called back in the day. They did a lot of good work in leading up to this.
Since the signing of the agreement, the Inuvialuit have worked hard to play a very important role in the economy, and I think there’s no better example than when you go through the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation office in Inuvik and you see all the folks that are employed along with many of the subsidiary companies that many, many of the people there are employed. It was a good first step to self-sufficiency and it gave us a better ability to control what goes on in the Inuvialuit land.
The Inuvialuit land claim covers thousands of square kilometres. I don’t know what people realize, but what I just learned lately is that much of this, a good portion of this is put aside for conservation, and if there’s any industry or any work to be done on the land, then the Inuvialuit have the deciding factor in whether work is going to happen on there or not, which I think is huge. It’s not going to be decided for us.
They’re also in the process of negotiating a self-government agreement. I was just texted some pictures from up in Inuvik, and it’s wet and it’s snowing up there, but they’re still having a great celebration out on the main road. Nothing dampens the spirits of the people of Inuvik and the Inuvialuit. They’ll dance through any kind of weather.
I would like to pass on my personal congratulations to the Inuvialuit. Like many of the people up in the Beau-Del that are both Inuvialuit and Gwich’in, I think we’re all very proud of our heritage, and we look forward to the good work that these folks are going to be doing in the future, and we look forward to being the beneficiaries of that good work. I think we owe a great deal of gratitude to all the people that came before us, paved the way for much of the Inuvialuit-Gwich’in leadership today.
With that, I want to pass along my personal congratulations. [English translation not provided.]
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
