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RANKIN INLET/KIVALLIQ - A focus on the mining industry tops the list of priorities for the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) as it heads into a new year.

The KIA wrapped up its annual general meeting (AGM) in Rankin Inlet this past month.

Kivalliq Inuit Association president Jose Kusugak reviews his files in Rankin Inlet this past week while preparing for upcoming meetings. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

President Jose Kusugak said the KIA is on solid financial footing right now, due mainly to the fact the organization opted not to fill a number of vacant positions.

He said the KIA is operating under capacity, saving about $270,000 in wages.

"Sakku Investments, Kivalliq Partners and our other subsidiaries showed a profit of about $170,000 this year," said Kusugak.

"Our negotiations and user fees associated with Kivalliq lands has also gone quite well during the past year.

"So we are showing a solid financial statement right now, although there's nothing we can really take great credit for other than our staff's willingness to pick up the slack from being a bit understaffed."

In addition to its focus on mining and exploration, KIA will continue its efforts to address numerous social issues.

Kusugak said the organization deals with a number of pressing social concerns on an annual basis.

He said while mining and health issues may seem unrelated on the surface, they are linked at one of the most basic levels - the financial level.

"We'll be looking at health issues such as how to deal with the waiting times at our nursing stations, quality versus quantity of care and getting seen by a doctor.

"So many of the issues we face in our communities - education, housing, health - are all tied to money problems, so that's why mining is at the top of our priority list."

The polar bear quota for Western Hudson Bay is another hot topic for the KIA.

Kusugak said he received information this past week on a survey reportedly conducted in Manitoba that recorded a record number of bears.

He said he resisted the temptation to say "I told you so" to the Government of Nunavut (GN) because he wants to keep the rhetoric at a professional level.

"While it's true I can say to the people of Kivalliq that government researchers have been consistently wrong - and they have been - it's more important to bring them to the table and have our say by asking if their hypotheses are right or wrong.

"That means having the proper information provided so we know exactly how they did the research and what was the exact outcome."

Kusugak said years ago researchers claimed caribou numbers were depleted in the Kivalliq, but they realized there were more than 300,000 caribou in the region and simply stopped counting.

He said instead of admitting they were wrong, the researchers changed their tune and told the government there might be a lot of caribou in the Kivalliq now, but Inuit are going to deplete them at the end of the day.

"You can never win or move forward when they display that type of attitude.

"It's very troubling when the GN appears to side with researchers so quickly, and seemingly disregards what's being said by our elders and hunters.

"When you run for the presidency of an organization or have a ministerial post, there are times you have to make educated but tough decisions.

"But you also have to realize you've been elected to a position to improve the lives of the people you're serving.

Kusugak said it's time things are done the Arctic way in Nunavut, which is not necessarily the Inuit way.

He said traditional Inuit knowledge is another way of saying Arctic sciences and it's time the GN took Arctic sciences into consideration, rather than assuming people from the south have all the expert knowledge.

"Being here and able to actually see and count whatever species we're talking about counts for so much.

"If the minister is just going to sit on the other side of the table with his southern counterparts, that's not going to go over too well with the people who elected him."

Kusugak said he was happy to hear of the GN's plans to bring all the players together in January.

He said the GN finally appears to see Arctic and western science growing further apart rather than coming closer together.

"This symposium, from what I understand, is aimed at getting everyone together in one room to see how they can work together.

"I'm so happy about that because Inuit often look at western science as something that only exists on paper because researchers always try and prove themselves right, whether that's the case or not.

"Conversely, western science tends to look at traditional knowledge like it's more on the spiritual side and not really scientific.

"But, in reality, they're both sciences and they're both right sometimes and they're both wrong sometimes."