The Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) had a productive week during its Annual General Meeting and Board of Directors meetings. Many of QIA’s activities and issues were discussed and debated with a number of resolutions being passed.

“The week of our Annual General Meeting is always an intense period of time with a lot of information presented to the board and a great deal of discussion taking place. This week was no exception, but I am very pleased with what we heard and with the conversations and resolutions that information generated,” said President Okalik Eegeesiak.

“I also want to thank QIA’s staff for their hard work this week organizing the meetings along with a very successful and enjoyable community feast. Their hard work and dedication means a great deal to me and the Board.”

During the week, several reports were presented for consideration. On the topic of social policy, reports were made by the representatives for elders, women’s and youth as well as presentations made about the work of the social and cultural committee on poverty reduction and food security. QIA showcased its latest Inuktitut books which were produced in partnership with Inhabit Media and the Nunavut Bilingual Education Society with funding obtained from Heritage Canada. There was also an update on the Qikiqtani Truth Commission (QTC). Thematic reports and community histories are being work on through QTC which will be released by next spring.

The youth department reported the Sprouts program completed its 15th year of programs with success. They created a fun music video from the summer called “Sprouts Kids 2012” and have continued to be involved in other video projects such as
“Don’t Be a Slave” which provides messages of the dangers of smoking and “To That Place” which urges young Inuit to remain connected to their Inuit roots and was featured at the International Polar Film Festival in Montreal this past April.

The Lands and Resources department provided an updated which touched upon roles and responsibilities, staffing, implementation activities, Inuit Impact and Benefits Agreements for proposed parks and conservation areas, national parks, soapstone quarries, exploration and mineral companies, Lancaster Sound, IQ database and land management of Inuit Owned Lands as a whole. The main focus was to get a good sense of how to make land use plans for the Qikiqtani in a meaningful way.

Extensive presentations were made to update the board on the Mary River project. The main discussion was about environmental concerns about activities around the sites. QIA has been successful in working with Baffinland to ensure that those concerns are being addressed. The land lease and commercial production lease continue to be negotiated by QIA’s delegated negotiating team.

QIA’s audited consolidated and non‐consolidated financial statements were reviewed and approved as was the budget for 2013‐2014.

Kakivak Association and Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, QIA’s controlled organizations provided their annual reports to the board which were also reviewed and approved.

The President’s and the Executive Director’s reports covered activities from the last Board meeting which were well received.

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For further information, please contact:

Craig Welsh
Director of Communications
Tel: (867) 975‐8416
Fax: (867) 979‐3238
E‐mail: cwelsh@qia.ca