Nunatsiavut

The Labrador Inuit Association had filed a land claim for portions of Labradorian land in 1977.[4] In 1988, the Labrador Inuit Association, the government of the province of Newfoundland, and the government of Canada began negotiations based on the land claim.[5] An agreement-in-principle was achieved in 2001, and on May 26, 2004, the agreement was ratified by over 75% of eligible voters subject to the land claim.[5]

On January 22, 2005, the Inuit of Nunatsiavut signed the Labrador Inuit Lands Claims Agreement[6] with the federal and provincial governments covering 72,520 km² (28,000 sq mi) of land,[4] including the entire northern salient of Labrador north of Nain as well as a portion of the Atlantic coast south of there. The agreement also includes 44,030 km² (17,000 sq mi) of sea rights.[4] Although the Inuit will not own the whole area, they were granted special rights related to traditional land use, and they will own 15,800 km² (6,100 sq mi) designated Labrador Inuit Lands.[4] The agreement also establishes the Torngat Mountains National Park in the northern area of the land claim.

The Labrador Inuit Lands Claims Agreement is a treaty between the Inuit of Labrador, the provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the federal government of Canada, that is constitutionally protected under the aboriginal and treaty rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada granted by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.[6]

The self-governance agreement included a transfer of $130 million from the federal government in compensation for the forced relocation of the Inuit in the 1950s;[7] $120 million to establish self-government; royalty payments from the provincial government for resource extraction; and land, mineral, and marine rights.[8] Unspecified benefits for Inuit in Labrador not within the settlement area were also part of the agreement.[4]

The agreement was ratified by the Labrador Inuit, the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Parliament of Canada, where it received Royal Assent on June 23, 2005.[9]

On December 1, 2005, the constitution was formally adopted, and a swearing-in ceremony was held for the first cabinet,[10] an interim government which consisted of members of the Labrador Inuit Association board of directors.[10] This day marked the official transfer of power from the provincial government to the newly formed Government of Nunatsiavut "to make their own laws relating to cultural affairs, education and health".[11]

In October 2006, Nunatsiavut held its first election to form a nine-member government, which was sworn in on October 16 in Hopedale.[12]

In 2019, there were 150 Inuit children in the care of the Department of Children, Seniors, and Social Development. An independent review, A Long Wait for Change, was completed by the province's Child and Youth Advocate at the request of the Nunatsiavut government and released in 2019. It contained 33 recommendations, including providing the support needed to transition to an Inuit-led child welfare system in Nunatsiavut.[13]

On June 18, 2021, Nunatsiavut stated that it had begun the process of seeking devolution of child protection services from the Department of Children, Seniors, and Social Development with the goal for negotiations to conclude within three years.[14][15][16]

Nunatsiavut Assembly and Executive Council

Nunatsiavut Assembly Building

The land claim agreement provided for the establishment of the Government of Nunatsiavut to represent the residents of the land claim area and any Labrador Inuit living elsewhere in Canada. Nunatsiavut remained a part of Newfoundland and Labrador, but the Government of Nunatsiavut acquired the jurisdictional authority over health, education, and justice in the land claim area. Nunatsiavut operates under a consensus government within the parliamentary system of Canada.

The legislature of the government is based in Hopedale, and its administrative centre is in Nain. It is subject to the Nunatsiavut Elections Act. The Nunatsiavut Assembly consists of a minimum of 16 members, including:

• a president, who chairs the Nunatsiavut Executive Council,[17]
• ten ordinary members[17] (one each from Hopedale, Makkovik, Postville and Rigolet;[18] two each from Nain, the Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Northwest River and Mud Lake area, and all Inuit elsewhere in Canada)
• the Angajukĸâk (mayor) of each of the five Inuit Community Governments (one each in Nain, Hopedale, Postville, Makkovik and Rigolet)
• the Chairs of the Inuit Community Corporations.[17]

There are currently two Inuit Community Corporations, NunaKatiget Inuit Community Corporation and Sivunivut Inuit Community Corporation,[19] and 18 members in the Assembly.

From the Assembly, a member will be elected to act as First Minister. The Assembly would act as a forum for discussion of laws, and it will oversee the Executive Council.

The Nunatsiavut Executive Council will be appointed by the First Minister. It will implement laws, develop and implement policy, initiate and prepare legislation, oversee the administration of the government, and be accountable to the Assembly.

Inuit Community Governments were established in Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik, Postville and Rigolet. Each consists of a municipal council, elected from and by both Inuit and non-Inuit residents, and is led by an Angajukĸâk, a chief executive officer and mayor, who must be Inuk.

Large settlements of Labrador Inuit outside the settlement area will be represented by Inuit Community Corporations.

The Angajukĸâk of each Inuit Community Government and the chairperson of each Inuit Community Corporation will represent his or her community in the Nunatsiavut Assembly.

There are seven departments headed by six ministers with Nunatsiavut Secretariat headed by the President of the Executive Council.[20]

• Department of Finance, Human Resources and Information Technology
• Department of Education and Economic Development
• Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism
• Department of Health & Social Development
• Department of Lands and Natural Resources
• Department of Nunatsiavut Affairs
• Nunatsiavut Secretariat

Chapters 12 and 13 of the Labrador Inuit Land Claim Agreement created the Torngat Wildlife and Plants Co-management Board, and the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board.[21]

While each community has government facilities, there are two key sites:

Nunatsiavut Government Head Office is located at 25 Ikajuktauvik Road in Nain and houses the administrative functions of the Government of Nunatsiavut.

The Nunatsiavut Assembly sits at Nunatsiavut Assembly Building in Hopedale. The building opened in 2012, faces Hopedale Harbour[22] and is the first permanent home since 2008 (previous assemblies met at various locations in Hopedale).

Saglek Fjord, Torngat Mountains National Park

Nunatsiavut's land claim includes the area surrounding Hamilton Inlet and the coastline north to a point south of Davis Inlet; the Mulligan River also forms part of the boundary. It also claims the land north of the Notakwanon River and as far north as Cape Chidley. Nunatsiavut is the southernmost recognized Inuit territory in Canada.

Nunatsiavut's territory consists of two geographic regions. The southern portion contains Rigolet, Makkovik, Postville and Hopedale and has a population of 1,433 (as of 2016).[23] The northern portion contains Nain as well as the Torngat Mountains National Park. Nunatsiavut is located near the Innu communities of Natuashish and Sheshatshiu as well as North West River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Cartwright. It is also near the Quebec settlements of Kuujjuaq and Kangiqsualujjuaq.

Towns

Nain

Hopedale

Postville

Makkovik

Rigolet

Towns of Nunatsiavut

• Hopedale
• Makkovik
• Nain
• Postville
• Rigolet

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Division No. 11 had a population of 2,323 living in 780 of its 845 total private dwellings, a change of -9.2% from its 2016 population of 2,558. With a land area of 66,787.13 km² (25,786.66 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.0/km² (0.1/sq mi) in 2021.[26]

The MV Northern Ranger provided ferry service between Nunatsiavut's five communities as well as Natuashish, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Cartwright and Black Tickle.[36] In 2019 the ferry was replaced by MV Kamutik W.[37][38] All five settlements also have airports with flights formerly provided by Air Labrador and now served by Air Borealis.[39][40] No community in Nunatsiavut is road accessible; but there have been some proposals to connect Nunatsiavut to the Trans-Labrador Highway.[41][42]

• Caubvick, namesake of Mount Caubvick
• Randy Edmunds, Member of the House of Assembly for Torngat Mountains (2011-2019)
• Johannes Lampe, 3rd President of Nunatsiavut (2016-)
• Sarah Leo, 2nd President of Nunatsiavut (2012–16)
• Mikak, one of the first Inuit to travel to, and return from, Europe in the mid 1700s.
• Natan Obed, President of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
• Keith Russell, former Member of the House of Assembly for Lake Melville (2011–15), former provincial cabinet minister
• John Shiwak, soldier
• Abraham Ulrikab, former Hebron resident
• Marlene Winters-Wheeler, speaker of the assembly

• List of proposed provinces and territories of Canada
• Nunatsiavut Assembly

• Media related to Nunatsiavut at Wikimedia Commons
• Nunatsiavut travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Government of Nunatsiavut
• Labrador and Inuit Land Claims Agreement at the Department of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
• Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Implementation Plan at the Department of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador