Following the official signing of the Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement (IIBA) QIA wishes to inform beneficiaries that the following timelines have been established for public release of the IIBA.

Consistent with 26.8.1 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, whereby “an IIBA shall take effect 30 days after its receipt by the Minister” and section 25.6 of the IIBA which states “the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall remain confidential for up to 90 days after which each Party shall be free to disclose this Agreement to any Person.” QIA therefore commits to providing a public copy of the IIBA on or before December 6, 2013.

To date QIA has prepared and released the following information:

1. Open letter to Beneficiaries
2. Project Background Document
3. Initial Draft Plain Language Guide

In addition to these documents QIA is planning to visit impacted communities to further present the IIBA and its contents to Beneficiaries. These dates will be made public once logistics are finalized.

Finally, QIA will be reaching out to media and publishing partners to arrange for opportunities to undertake more in-depth discussions of the IIBA, its contents and initial implementation plans.

KEY SOURCE REFERENCES

NLCA 26.8.1

An IIBA shall take effect 30 days after its receipt by the Minister unless the Minister has determined within that time that the IIBA does not conform to the provisions of Section 26.3.2 or the principles of Subsections 26.3.3(a) to (e), or that, with respect to an IIBA pursuant to Parts 5 or 6, an arbitrator has exceeded the arbitrator’s jurisdiction.

IIBA, 25.6

At the request of either party in writing, the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall remain confidential for up to 90 days after which each Party shall be free to disclose this Agreement to any Person. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either Party may disclose the terms herein with its respective professional advisors on a “need to know” basis (provided such Persons agree to be bound by the foregoing confidentiality obligations), or where disclosure is required pursuant to Applicable Laws or in administrative, regulatory or court proceedings. Notwithstanding the foregoing, QIA may provide NLCA beneficiaries represented by QIA with general information and a summary of this IIBA in sufficient detail as to understand the anticipated impacts and benefits of the Project to Inuit.

– 30 –

For further information, please contact:

David Joanasie
Communications Manager
(867) 975-8414
djoanasie@qia.ca