
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami has released a national Inuit position paper to guide future policies and programs governing the marine environments of Inuit Nunangat.
Inuit have historically been excluded from government conversations and policy on climate action. Part of reconciliation is acknowledging Inuit as leaders in pushing forward climate action.
Our communities are already adapting to the changing climate. We are actively working to protect the resilience of our northern communities. Our voices are key to conversations on successful climate actions in Inuit Nunangat.
Direct health concerns related to temperatures that are increasing at three times the rate of the global averages, melting permafrost damaging our infrastructure, changing ice conditions, coastal erosion, changing contaminant pathways, and changing access to locally harvested foods, intensifies social and health challenges in our communities.
Climate change also brings a loss of traditions, identity, and sense of place.
Climate action solutions must be built with Inuit health concerns in mind.
Inuit communities are the most food insecure of all indigenous communities in Canada. Our food systems rely on a combination of foods shipped up from the south, as well as locally harvested country food.
We are increasingly reliant on market foods. These foods are more and more expensive, and limited in terms of the availability of nutritionally dense and fresh foods.
A climate action strategy must be informed by Inuit specific food policies and programs.
The physical landscape that Inuit communities are built on has been changing rapidly for decades. Inuit communities have responded with retrofits, and renovations to existing buildings, but more is needed in terms of official government policy.
Access to education, and resources that increase the climate resilience of our communities is necessary.
Government initiatives for new buildings, retrofits to existing buildings, and incentives for climate resilient builds must account for the specific challenges Inuit face.
Inuit communities currently rely on their own policies and initiatives to adjust for the increased cost of living in northern communities. We rely heavily on diesel fuel for heating, and transportation of basic resources.
Creating a lower carbon economy must include “off-grid” Inuit populations.
While we look to the positive action achieved by off-grid Alaskan and Greenlandic communities, the energy policy environment in Canada is different and requires that the Canadian government work closely with Inuit to achieve energy transitions that benefit our communities.
For more information on how to work collaboratively with Inuit on climate actions and an overview of our governance, please see the strategy’s companion document: Working Better Together—Collaborating with Inuit on Climate Actions in Inuit Nunangat, Appendix A in the full strategy document.
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami has released a national Inuit position paper to guide future policies and programs governing the marine environments of Inuit Nunangat.
There is no greater threat than climate change, and ITK applauds Canada for taking action on this Earth Day.
The National Inuit Climate Change Strategy calls for coordinated climate policy and decision making to enhance the quality of life for Inuit in Inuit Nunangat.