NationTalk: Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s Board of Directors voted May 29 to establish a new sub-committee of the Board to better incorporate the positions of Inuit living outside of Inuit Nunangat into the work of ITK. Membership of the sub-committee would reflect ITK Board membership, with each Inuit Treaty Organization and permanent participant appointing a representative.

They also approved the creation of a national Inuit labour market committee, an Inuit-focused space for developing recommendations to the ITK Board on issues relevant to Inuit employment, labour, and skills development.

The Board also approved federal funding allocations for the following initiatives:

• $285 million in funding over 10 years from the Indigenous Health Equity Fund announced in Budget 2023 to address equitable access to health care services
• $197.5 million over seven years from the Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy
• $1.3 million from Employment and Social Development Canada to build human resources capacity in Inuit regions to facilitate Inuit-led research and develop Inuit-specific training program to foster future generations of Inuit researchers

Board members received an interim report highlighting the success of the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund, which allocated $517.8 million to Inuit Treaty Organizations in 2021 to support immediate infrastructure needs. In April 2024, with one year of the funding cycle remaining, 75 per cent of the Inuit-specific funding has been committed to projects in Inuit communities, and the fund itself has been administered and managed in a way that supports Inuit self-determination of major infrastructure projects. More than 120 projects across Inuit Nunangat have been funded or partially funded through this investment, including street lighting, broadband internet upgrades, playgrounds, childcare centres, solar and wind energy, youth centres, arenas, and multi-use facilities.

Directors also renewed their support for efforts to affirm the rights of Inuit against the alarming and increasing threats posed by false claims to Inuit identity. In a resolution approving housing funding through the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy, Board members noted their opposition to the allocation of any of those funds to NunatuKavut Community Council and any other fraudulent individuals and organizations falsely claiming Inuit identity or status.

Directors also encouraged ITK’s ongoing work to pursue justice for harms the Catholic Church has perpetrated against Inuit.