ITK president focuses on marine infrastructure, threats to Arctic waters in Iqaluit speech
“Spicy” times in the world call for “generational” investments in Canada’s Arctic, says Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed.
Obed made the remarks while attending the Ingiulik Nunavut Shipping Summit at the Aqsarniit hotel in Iqaluit Tuesday.
The ITK president was keynote speaker on the second day of the four-day Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.-led event, which attracted delegates from across the Canadian Arctic, Alaska and Greenland.
“It is an unacceptable reality that our 51 [Inuit Nunangat] communities are so underserviced from a marine infrastructure end,” Obed said in his speech, noting Canadian Rangers require facilities to launch their patrols and sealift companies need better options to unload cargo.
“We need to do better, and hopefully, we can work with the Government of Canada and jurisdictions to do that.”
Obed addressed ongoing concerns around the United States and other countries interested in gaining greater access to Arctic waters.
Rather than focusing on recent escalating threats by U.S. President Donald Trump and other American officials to annex Greenland, Obed addressed the longstanding U.S. position which views the Northwest Passage as international waters.
Obed said ITK’s opinion is that the Northwest Passage belongs to both Canada and the Inuit whose land claims it passes through. The Canadian government considers the passage to be within Canadian jurisdiction as well.
“We may be in the crosshairs of other nation states’ interests in a way that we just have not had to consider,” he said.
“Our shipping policies, our marine policies, and the ability to develop them here in the present — before all of this other noise that comes into the picture — is something that we really shouldn’t let pass by.”
After his speech, Obed told reporters that Trump’s threats and comments regarding Greenland are cause for concern.
“If you hear President Trump, one of the accusations he cast against Greenland is their lack of investment within Greenland. And if that is going to be a measure of another nation state’s justification for taking over space that they feel is underutilized, then I do worry about that case being made against Inuit Nunangat in Canada,” Obed said.
“This is the time to focus on strengthening our communities, to strengthen our sovereignty, and also … to ensure co-operation and partnership between Inuit and Canada and then Canada and the world.”
Obed said these are “spicy” and “uncertain” times, but also a time where Inuit in Canada and beyond are finding solidarity with each other. He said he hopes to connect with international delegates this week to reaffirm that.
“We have to just try as best as we can to mobilize with our existing allies,” Obed said, “to ensure that democracy is strengthened, that our allies are not going to annex or forcefully take over their allies’ lands and resources.”