ARCHIVED – Meeting Summary – 29 June 2011 – Office of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, Iqaluit, Nunavut

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Arctic Offshore Drilling Review

Information Meeting Summary

Date and Location
Date Location
Wednesday
29 June 2011 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.		 Office of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, Iqaluit, Nunavut

Purpose: Provide an update on the Arctic Offshore Drilling Review to the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA)

Participants
Participants
J. Okalik Eegeesiak President, QIA
John Amagoalik Executive Advisor, QIA
Gaétan Caron Chair, National Energy Board
David Hamilton Temporary Member, National Energy Board
Brian Chambers Northern Advisor, National Energy Board

Presentation (NEB):

NEB provided introductory remarks, which included a general overview of the scope and phases of the Arctic Offshore Drilling Review, the gathering and analysis of information, and the production of a report.

Follow the introductory comments Ms. Eegeesiak and Mr. Amagoalik identified a number of matters, including the following:

  • the importance of the NEB being aware of the offshore drilling that is taking place off the west coast of Greenland
  • a blowout that had occurred in earlier onshore drilling activity (1960s and 1970s) on King Christian Island in the High Arctic, near the community of Resolute
  • oil and gas exploration in the High Arctic in the 1960s and 1970s did not include any consultation with aboriginal people or communities
  • oil and gas exploration in the High Arctic in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in environmental damage that the elders in the communities remember
  • it is imperative that oil and gas companies that want to explore in the Arctic consult properly with Inuit communities and that Inuit and Inuit organizations have meaningful input into decisions that are made about oil and gas exploration and development in the Arctic
  • communities are feeling a lot of pressure from government, environmental non-government organizations, and industry. Communities would welcome an entity like the NEB to help them deal with these pressures
  • progress toward the establishment of a National Park on Bathurst Island to protect the Peary Caribou, as well as ongoing efforts to establish a Marine Protected Area in Lancaster Sound
  • QIA is not necessarily opposed to development, as long as it takes place at a pace they are comfortable with and which includes their meaningful participation in the decision-making process
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