Launch of 2010 Year of the Inuit * National Press Theatre * November 25, 2009

 

 

Next February, the world will be watching Canada as we play host to the 2010 Winter Olympics. During the games, millions of people will get to see the familiar Inuksuk as part of the symbol of the Olympics. As Inuit we are extremely proud to be associated with the Olympics. Earlier this month I welcomed the Olympic flame when it went through my home town in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik.

 

But as Inuit, we also have to ensure that our country sees us in more than just symbolic terms.

 

In short, to paraphrase a slogan from a few years ago:

 

“The North wants in.”

 

While 2010 will be a chance to celebrate Inuit achievements, we also need to recognize that there are serious disparities between Inuit and the rest of Canadians.

 

 

For example:

 

-Inuit life expectancy is 15 years lower than the average Canadian and the gap is not closing

-the cost of living in the Arctic is three to four times higher than in Southern Canada

-and the average Inuit income is half of that of non-aboriginal Canadians.

 

To address these disparities Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK for short) does not expect to stand back and have others solve our problems. Indeed, our history is a proud one, with a record of consultation and cooperation leading to five comprehensive land claim agreements in all four of our Inuit regions in the past 40 years.

 

We are prepared for a concentrated effort during 2010, using the  attention of the Olympics and other events to work to inform Canadians about the Inuit who populate one-fifth of our land mass, and half of all Canada’s shoreline.

 

When Canadians hear about the Arctic, it cannot just be about our sovereignty. As I have said during a cross-Canada speaking tour: Sovereignty Begins at Home. It depends on people, not just ports or training facilities or military exercises. Canada’s claim to the Arctic is strengthened because of the Canadians who live there, but it’s weakened by the conditions in which they live. The Inuit cannot only be remembered during times of sovereignty issues.

 

To that end, we are launching an exciting new initiative today: “2010 Year of the Inuit”.

 

In the next year we will focus the attention of Canadians on Inuit culture, contributions and challenges. To help us understand how Canadians view the Inuit and the Arctic we commissioned The North Poll to see how much Canadians know about the Arctic.

 

There was some positive news in the results:

 

- 65% of Canadians said they have a fondness for the Arctic and 74% said they would like to learn more about the Inuit way of life.

- 70% of Canadians oppose the European Union ban on Canadian seal products and support the traditional Inuit seal hunting practices for cultural, economic and subsistence reasons.

 

On climate change – the issue of our times – Canadians were strongly supportive of the plight of the Inuit in the Arctic, acknowledging that the ravages of climate change are hitting the Arctic the hardest. Next month at the COP-15 conference in Copenhagen the word ‘Arctic’ is not included in the Framework Convention on Climate Change: Canada should not accept anything less than its inclusion in the document.

 

There were also some sobering results in the poll:

-a majority of Canadians were aware of our challenge with higher rates of mortality, and that Inuit tuberculosis rates were 90 times that of average Canadians.

 

And one area of particular disappointment: only 25% of Canadians knew that Inuit pay all taxes, including income tax, GST and PST.

 

Looking at that statistic, as full tax-paying citizens, facing economic and health challenges not faced by the average Canadian, why wouldn’t we want “in”?

 

Inuit are prepared to do our part… whether at the 2010 Games, during the G7 conference in Iqaluit or at our own events, to educate, inform, advise and listen.

 

Next January for example, just prior to the Olympics, we will be giving the nation’s capital a chance to sample Inuit Arts and Culture with an event called a “Taste of the Arctic – An evening celebrating Inuit culture at the National Gallery of Canada. It will be a fundraising event for the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation.

 

During the next year we should have a strong and open exchange on how to bring Southern and Northern Canada closer together, to address ways to improve our way of life. And perhaps we can improve on one other statistic the poll revealed: only 7% of Canadians have ever visited the Arctic. As someone said, it’s easier for a university student to backpack around Europe than it is to go to Pond Inlet. So while the North wants in, we also want the South to come visit.