NR 07-21 INU ENG News Release Auditor Generals Report.doc

(October 31, 2007 – Iqaluit, Nunavut) Nunavut Tunngavik President Paul Kaludjak today said the implementation failures surrounding the Inuvialuit Final Agreement are further evidence that federal land claims implementation policies are not working and are in need of early, fundamental and far-reaching reform.
Kaludjak made his comments following the release of Auditor General Sheila Fraser’s report yesterday.
The Auditor General has also recognized the failures of the federal government’s current policies in earlier reports. Aboriginal groups with major land claims agreements across Canada have been saying the same thing since 2003, said Kaludjak. The flawed policies are leading to court cases and clouding development opportunities. Now is the time for the federal government to finally show the necessary insight and will, and to work in genuine partnership with Aboriginal peoples to change its policies to fix this problem.
The Auditor General found that 23 years after the Inuvialuit Final Agreement was signed, Ottawa continues to ignore a large number of pledges it made to the Inuit, such as ensuring they benefit economically from government contracts in the region.
This finding is consistent with NTI’s long standing problems with the federal government on the implementation of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Kaludjak said the report reinforces NTI’s decision last December to launch a lawsuit against the Government of Canada for breach of contract for failure to implement the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
We were not surprised by the Auditor General’s recent findings. For the past several years, we have dealt with the failures of the federal government. This is nothing new, said Kaludjak.

For further information:

Kerry McCluskey
Director of Communications
Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated
Tel: (867) 975-4914 Toll-free: 1-888-646-0006