Nunatukavut, Nalcor sign agreement
Nunatukavut and Nalcor announced an agreement Monday that was described by both sides as “ground-breaking.”
The organization representing the Southern Inuit has signed a community development agreement (CDA) with the provincial energy corporation worth more than $8 million.
“The CDA is significant, it is long term and it will provide significant benefits for our communities and our people,” Nunatukavut Community Council (NCC) president Todd Russell said. “It also signals a major shift in public policy, in particular one of exclusion and denial to one of inclusion.”
Russell said the agreement acknowledges Nunatukavut representatives must be at the table when resource projects are happening on their territory, to protect Indigenous rights.
Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady said Nalcor and the Indigenous communities need to have a strong and lasting relationship, and the community development agreement is to do that.
When asked if it was recognition of need for a land claim with Nunatukavut, Coady said it’s a recognition of Nalcor working with the Indigenous communities in Labrador.
“I think it’s recognition of community advancement and development,” she said. “I think it’s a recognition of some of the concerns that Nunatukavut have had and I think it’s a positive step toward to have Nalcor working with Indigenous leaders and Indigenous communities.”
One of the areas of concern Nunatukavut and other indigenous groups have had is about methylmercury and its impact upon the food supply of area communities.
As part of the CDA, Nalcor will fund an independent, supplemental baseline dietary survey and hair sampling study for Nunatukavut members in Upper Lake Melville, adding to the work being done by the Nunatsiavut Government.
“It will provide a firmer baseline of information around methylmercury and this will certainly help in trying to understand any potential dietary impacts it may have,” Russell said. “It will also give us an opportunity to better inform mitigation efforts and the types of efforts we could make in the future. It is important that our people are fully incorporated into that piece of work.”
Jim Keating, XXX of Nalcor, said the study is a worthwhile opportunity to invest in further sampling and further data, which will augment their understanding of methylmercury. He said the CDA fosters a stronger and more respectful relationship between Nunatukavut and Nalcor, which they need.
Keating said their experience shows if Indigenous groups are engaged early in the decisionmaking processes, have influence and their knowledge is openly sought to be incorporated into the project and that they stand to benefit, those resource projects have a much purer pathway to development.
The agreement is for six years and came into effect on Dec. 1. In addition to addressing environmental concerns around the Muskrat Falls and Labrador transmission projects, it looks at future projects in Labrador.
“This provision provides that Nalcor and NCC will meet and engage in good faith to promote meaningful NCC participation to assist with the protection of the environment and reduction of adverse environmental impacts of future Nalcor projects,” stated a news release from NCC on the CDA. “It also commits Nalcor and NCC to engaging in good faith negotiations towards a project-specific agreement and the consideration of Indigenous traditional knowledge.”
Additionally, the CDA provides funding in existing NCC programs, including the Investing in Nunatukavut Communities Infrastructure Program, George Roberts Community Grants Program and the Southern Inuit Education Program.
The CDA also brings up the potential of a commercial relationship around alternative energy in and around NCC communities in Labrador.