“The Inuit of Labrador and the federal government have signed a deal that will see the Inuit use their traditional knowledge to develop a marine-management plan covering more than 380,000 square kilometres of coastal waters on the far eastern end of the Northwest Passage.
The plan, which is expected to govern shipping, resource extraction, water quality, species management, conservation of historical sites and other matters of importance to the Inuit, comes as climate change and the decline of Arctic sea ice are opening the passage to an increasing amount of ship traffic.
The end result is expected to be the first Indigenous protected area in Canada – a region where Indigenous people are the recognized custodians of the environment.
"We see this as a clear way to make sure that Labrador Inuit have some input into how our waters are being managed," Darryl Shiwak, the Minister of Lands and Natural Development for the Nunatsiavut government, said Thursday in a telephone interview. "We consider ourselves people of the ocean. So this would give us a way to have more control and more ways to manage that."”
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