Clyde River – Federal Court of Appeal Decision

Press Releases

(August 19, 2015, Iqaluit, Nu) – QIA acknowledges the recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeal upholding the decision of the National Energy Board (NEB) to permit seismic surveying in Baffin Bay. QIA continues to agree with the Hamlet of Clyde River and the local Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO) that the NEB decision of June 2014 to permit seismic surveying effectively denies Inuit of our right to meaningful consultation prior to such activity being undertaken.

QIA emphasizes that the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal is not the end of the story. The NEB approval remains subject to a number of conditions, including proper and effective collection of IQ and implementation of IQ into any project design proposed by industry. QIA will continue to monitor compliance by industry with NEB conditions on behalf of Inuit.

QIA also continues to prioritize its resources into the collection of IQ from Inuit to establish an Inuit developed IQ baseline to assist Inuit in challenging any proposed industry activity that ignores and/or does not properly implement available Inuit IQ into project design. IQ workshops have already been conducted by QIA in a number of affected communities. QIA will continue to collect and promote IQ collection by Inuit for Inuit, with the stated purpose of avoiding control and structuring of IQ by industry on industry terms rather than on Inuit terms.

QIA will continue to support impacted communities, and continues to look forward to working with Inuit organizations such as the Clyde River HTO and Hamlet Council in order to coordinate the various ways that continue to be available to QIA and its partners for supporting Inuit.

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Media Contact:

Maude Bertrand

Director of Communications Qikiqtani Inuit Association mbertrand@qia.ca (867) 975.8413 1.800.667.2742

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