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Backgrounder
Labrador Inuit Park Impacts and Benefits Agreement
The Labrador Inuit Park Impacts and
Benefits Agreement, signed by Canada and the Labrador Inuit
Association, formalizes the ongoing relationship between Parks Canada
and Labrador Inuit. It sets out financial, cooperative management, and
land use arrangements to address the potential impacts that the
creation of a national park reserve may have for area Inuit, as well
as the potential benefits.
This agreement is required under the
provisions of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement. Negotiations
between Parks Canada and the Labrador Inuit Association to conclude
the Labrador Inuit Park Impacts and Benefits Agreement took
approximately two years to complete.
Highlights of this Agreement include:
- Payment by Canada of $1 million to the
Nunatsiavut Government to identify and develop a plan for Labrador
Inuit businesses to take advantage of economic opportunities
associated with the national park reserve, and to create a fund to
help Labrador Inuit and Labrador Inuit businesses to take advantage of
those opportunities.
- Establishment of a cooperative
management board to advise the federal Minister of the Environment on
all matters related to the management of the Torngat Mountains
National Park Reserve of Canada. This five-member board will include
equal representation by both Parks Canada and the Nunatsiavut
Government, and will have an independent chair appointed by the two
parties.
- Provisions for the ongoing use by
Labrador Inuit of the national park reserve, including the removal of
carving stone and the continued use of traditional seasonal campsites.
- Provisions to help Labrador Inuit take
full advantage of the potential employment opportunities provided by
the national park reserve.
- Recognition that the national park
reserve will highlight the integral role that Labrador Inuit play in
preserving the natural ecosystems of the area, and present the
cultural history of not only the park reserve lands, but also of the
larger region.
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