Inuit leaders say that Canada’s plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on Arctic defence could repeat past harms in the North unless Inuit are involved as partners.
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KUUJJUAQ — A meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Inuit leaders Tuesday wrapped with a commitment for a new program to replace the Inuit Child First Initiative, and for Ottawa to use its channels to get a proposed Inuit Nunangat University accredited.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami leader Natan Obed agreed Tuesday there is room to improve the relationship between Ottawa and Inuit as they kicked off a meeting of the Inuit-to-Crown partnership committee. Carney was in Kuujjuaq, Que., with six of his cabinet ministers for a meeting with Inuit leaders. (June 30, 2026)
Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Kuujjuaq, Que., on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Inuit–Crown Partnership Committee.
Inuit leaders say that Canada’s plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on Arctic defence could repeat past harms in the North unless Inuit are involved as partners.
ITK releases its Inuit Nunangat Poverty Reduction Strategy and recommended changes to how Nutrition North Canada operates in the region.
Canada’s national Inuit organization is calling on the federal government to be better partners, saying Canada must respect Inuit rights to governance and self-determination.
Watch to see remarks from ITK President Obed and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty.
The funding is meant to help fulfill the federal government’s promise to eradicate tuberculosis by 2030. But Inuit groups across Canada have been lobbying for $131 million in funding as well as co-ordinated action to address the underlying issues that increase tuberculosis spread
Forty-one per cent of Inuit families lived below the poverty line, compared to 11 per cent of Canadians overall
“If the government of Canada is going to spend a dollar on poverty reduction, on food security, on the well-being of children, that we’d love to do it within these policy parameters and the priorities that we have decided ourselves that we feel will make the best possible difference.”
“Self-determination also means that you get to decide whether or not to play any role within this country, and I think Mary was able to balance her indigeneity with her official function as head of state on behalf of the King for Canada,” President Obed said.
