Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, unusakut. In a week where we celebrate the first Black Speaker of the House of Commons and first Indigenous premier of a Canadian province, I rise to note another historic first: the election of Peter Freuchen Ittinuar, the first Inuk Member of Parliament and the first MP to speak Inuktitut in the House of Commons — yet another historic first which happened in October 1979. Peter was elected in 1979 to represent the then-constituency of Nunatsiaq until 1984.

Peter was born in the small Hudson Bay community of Chesterfield Inlet. He is the grandson of the renowned Danish Arctic explorer Peter Freuchen, who lived for many years in Thule, Greenland.

I vividly remember travelling to Nuuk, Greenland, with Mr. Ittinuar and an official delegation from the Northwest Territories in 1981. Mr. Ittinuar was warmly welcomed there as the returning prodigal son.

Peter’s early life was not without turmoil. He was wrenched, as a young boy, from his family to be educated in Ottawa with two childhood friends, Zebedee Nungak and Eric Tagoona, who also became important advocates for the rights of the Inuit. Unbeknownst to them, they’d all been relocated to Ottawa by federal authorities as an experiment in cultural assimilation — a story told in the compelling documentary The Experimental Eskimos.

Peter Ittinuar was elected as a New Democratic Party MP, and, yes, I was one of three members of his campaign committee and his official agent. He became disillusioned with the party’s lack of support for our vision for the creation of Nunavut, so in November of 1982, he crossed the floor to sit with Pierre Trudeau’s Liberals. A plebiscite earlier that year had resulted in a majority of residents supporting division of the N.W.T. It was in that same month of November 1982 that Minister John Munro announced federal support for the creation of Nunavut with conditions, which included the parallel settling of the Nunavut land claim.

Mr. Ittinuar’s crossing of the floor was not popular in some quarters, but that crossing and the concessions he extracted from the government of the Right Honourable Pierre Trudeau was a pivotal moment in the long journey to the creation of Nunavut.

Thank you for your service, Peter Ittinuar.

Qujannamiik. Taima.

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, I have the pleasure to rise today on Senator Klyne’s inquiry, which calls the attention of the Senate to the ongoing business and economic contributions made by Indigenous businesses to Canada’s economy.

I would like to begin by thanking Senator Klyne for the work he is doing to highlight the progress Indigenous people have made — and continue to make — across the country.

From coast to coast to coast, I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting many successful and pioneering Indigenous entrepreneurs. There is not enough time for me to highlight everyone, so I’d like to focus instead on Inuit firms and Inuit leaders who are blazing a trail in Nunavut.

We are lucky in our territory that the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, under Article 24, has clear requirements for the federal and territorial governments to “. . . provide reasonable support and assistance to Inuit firms . . . .”

On December 20, 2019, the Treasury Board issued a directive that ensures all government contracts, including real property leases, meet the government’s obligations under this article. The practical upshot of all of this has been the growth and development of Inuit firms that now have the resources and capacity to diversify their portfolios and ventures.

In each of the three regions, there is a regional Inuit association, or RIA, and each RIA has a development corporation. Each corporation serves as a conglomerate with a variety of subsidiaries that offer a variety of services from training and professional development to development of the fisheries. They offer services in support of mining and construction. All of these corporations also focus on renewable energy projects and telecommunications, and that is by no means an exhaustive list.

In the Baffin region — where I live — Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, or QC, is the development corporation. Under the visionary leadership of Mr. Harry Flaherty, QC is currently commissioning a new fishing vessel to add to their fleet — worth well over $100 million — from a shipbuilding contractor in Spain. They will continue to expand their fisheries and bring quality products, such as shrimp, char and turbot, to domestic and international markets.

The Inuit also own the Aqsarniit Hotel in Iqaluit, a striking hotel and conference centre that features large, well-appointed rooms and state-of-the-art conference delivery capacity in the territory’s capital. Those of you who have recently travelled to Nunavut may be aware of how difficult it is to book a room there, as it is always sold out.

With regard to energy, QC continues to pursue renewable energy solutions, such as the Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation’s current project to install 10 100-kilowatt wind turbines — which is anticipated to displace half the diesel fuel used annually for power in that windswept community in lower Hudson Bay — while also managing the Nunavut Petroleum Corporation in cooperation with another Inuit-owned firm, Nunasi Corporation.

In the central region, Sakku Investments Corporation is the development corporation for the Kivalliq Inuit Association. They have been focusing on major endeavours, such as pursuing the development of the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link to Manitoba through their subsidiary, Nukik Corporation.

In 2022, Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal stated:

The Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link is always top-of-mind as a key northern infrastructure priority. . . . The Government is well-positioned to deliver on its ambitious climate agenda and to build on the momentum that the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link project has made to date. . . .

This is a 100% Inuit-owned project that is projected to support the region by creating 13,650 person-years of employment during the construction phase. It will unlock the vast mineral potential of the region, including critical minerals, as reliable and cost-effective energy infrastructure is key to making these types of projects more economical.

Currently, the mining sector in this region alone generates more than $100 million in tax revenue annually, creating an added incentive to further projects that would grow that sector significantly. In 2019, Agnico Eagle, the major mining company in that region, spent $630 million on Inuit-owned businesses. According to Nukik Corporation, the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link project is estimated to generate revenues upward of $8 billion over 50 years, and would contribute $3 billion to the GDP during construction alone.

Headed by President and CEO David Kakuktinniq, Sakku bought and refurbished the Clarion, a former hotel in Winnipeg, and repurposed it as a medical boarding home. This 139-room building also boasts 40,000 feet of commercial space, event areas, a pool, spa and more. The amenities do much to support Kivalliq Inuit who must travel to Winnipeg for specialist appointments, surgeries, births, testing and other medical needs. It’s a major improvement over the former 44-room facility that hosted 120 beds.

The discomfort and displacement of Inuit who must travel for medical care is a tragic reality that all three regions face. This innovative solution is one that other regions are closely watching with the hopes of replicating it.

Here in Ottawa, another Inuit-owned facility, Larga Baffin, will soon begin construction on Hunt Club Road. The six-storey medical boarding home will have 220 rooms and 350 beds.

Last, but definitely not least, we come to the western region of Kitikmeot. I’ve always looked at this region as one with innovative leaders who have shown great vision through the years.

Last October, I had the pleasure of working alongside Inuit partners to host the Arctic Security and Sovereignty Summit in Iqaluit, which was attended by many of my Senate colleagues. Every speaker — from academics, to representatives of Inuit‑owned Nasittuq and Nunavut Tunngavik, to Natan Obed, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, or ITK — noted the same thing: that we need to make bold investments in support of the territory and Inuit.

More than once, we heard about the importance of multi-purpose, multi-user legacy infrastructure that would not only lead to better defence capabilities in the Arctic but support local entities and build strong, healthy communities throughout the North.

In the Kitikmeot region, the long-talked-about Grays Bay Road and Port Project is one such example. It is the continuation of a decades-long trend of visionary advocacy for the Bathurst Inlet Port and Road Project and now its new route to Grays Bay.

Colleagues, you have heard me waxing poetic about this project. I’m excited about it because of what it means to community resupply. An all-weather road that, once connected to its sister project in the Northwest Territories, would be Nunavut’s first connection to Canada’s highway system, making this a truly nation-building project. It would be the first deepwater port on Canada’s western Arctic coast, meaning better year-round access to essential goods, breaking the reliance of Kitikmeot communities on cargo planes — which can become unreliable due to weather — and barges that must be booked far in advance and increasingly have trouble navigating the Mackenzie River, which is drying up due to climate change.

Most important, it will provide a deepwater port for our navy and allied navies on the Arctic coast, and a road to tidewater through the resource-rich Slave Geological Province will make numerous base metal and critical mineral projects at known deposits viable.

Inuit partners are currently working with a new proponent to bring this project to life, and I look forward to sharing more news about this nation-building project in the near future.

The RIA’s development corporation, Kitikmeot Corporation, or KC, is ably led by Mr. David Omilgoitok; he has helped KC develop an impressive and diverse portfolio. They are currently exploring potential wind energy in the territory and have built strategic partnerships to advance these initiatives. They have also partnered with southern firms to proactively train Inuit youth so they can take on jobs that will become available in the next few years, once both of the mines being developed become operational.

Honourable senators, one of the things I greatly admire about Inuit is the way they work collaboratively toward a shared goal or vision. The Nunavut Construction Corporation, or NCC, is 100% Inuit owned, and its shareholders include Nunasi Corporation, Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, Sakku Investments Corporation and Kitikmeot Corporation. NCC works on development projects across the territory and has recently partnered with the Government of Nunavut on its ambitious and laudable Nunavut 3000 initiative. The Government of Nunavut has contracted NCC to build 150 public housing units for $600 per square foot — for a total of $105 million — in the coming year. Over the years, via Nunavut 3000, NCC will build 2,000 of the 3,000 much-needed new housing units planned for Nunavut. This will cover everything from transitional and supportive housing to elder care facilities to affordable and market housing.

We are all keenly aware of the housing crisis facing all Canadians. It is more acute and pronounced in Indigenous communities that already struggle with overcrowding.

Inuit-owned businesses are also servicing Nunavut’s rapidly growing mining sector, a main driver of Nunavut’s economy, and GDP growth is forecast to increase by over 13% in the coming year.

Since its start, Baffinland’s Mary River Mine on north Baffin Island has provided over $1 billion worth of business to Inuit‑owned businesses and joint ventures in the region of Qikiqtaaluk, Baffin.

Colleagues, I’ve outlined a massive contribution of Nunavut Inuit to the Canadian economy, and it’s only the tip of the iceberg. There is no way I could highlight all the deserving and noteworthy accomplishments of Inuit businesspeople in only 15 minutes, so I will end there but invite you to keep your eyes on Nunavut and, whenever you have a chance, speak to Nunavummiut if you are interested in learning more about their amazing accomplishments and the exciting new initiatives they are leading.

Thank you. Qujannamiik.

(On motion of Senator Clement, debate adjourned.)