The Inuit of the Eastern Arctic moved a step closer to a land claim settlement at a Resolute Bay meeting earlier this year between them and the federal government.
Calgary consultant Robert McPherson, an adviser to the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut, told The Northern Miner the meeting dealt solely with sub-surface land selection.
McPherson said the meeting was the third in a series in the Baffin region where the actual land selections were settled on (or bargained for) to meet the terms of an agreement-in-principle signed last year. Other meetings are planned in preparation for a final vote by the Inuit later this year.
“At Resolute Bay, the big issue under discussion was whether the Inuit people may claim Crown mineral lands already held under disposition by the mining industry of the Northwest Territories,” McPherson said. He further explained that the Inuit objective “is to achieve a quality land position in mineral plays throughout the Nunavut settlement area.” The Inuit gave up the main leases and those abutting (or are nearby) property deposits at Truro Island and Eclipse. Also relinquished were certain mineral claims under the sea floor.
The Resolute Bay residents acquired title to leases and claims in several areas of Cornwallis Island. The final subsurface selections also encompassed portions of unstaked ground over the Thumb Mountain formation.
McPherson said that for a short period of time, open areas of selected land will be subject to a freeze.
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