NUNAVUT
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. has changed its governing structure, giving regional Inuit associations more responsibility and increasing transparency and accountability, said its acting president.

"The time to do it is now, the regional organizations and NTI are ready," said acting president James Eetoolook.

He, along with Kitikmeot Inuit Association president Charlie Evalik, Kivalliq Inuit Association president Jose Kusugak and Qikiqtani Inuit Association president Okalik Eegeesiak announced the changes last week.

Changes made include having the presidents of the regional Inuit associations on the executive committee with the NTI president.

The NTI executive will no longer look after portfolios, but instead delegate them. This would have been similar to the way a minister manages his or her portfolio.

Such changes have been discussed since 2006.

Eegeesiak said QIA welcomes the changes and said they come as a result of NTI's growth.

By having herself and the other regional Inuit association presidents on the board, Eegeesiak said it will make the process easier.

"We weren't part of the NTI executive so we weren't privy to a lot of the discussions on things like policy development," she said.

Now they will be able to be part of the discussions from the beginning, from development to finalizing decisions.

Other changes include handing over management of subsurface Inuit-owned lands, the Bereavement and Compassionate Travel Program and the Nunavut Harvester Support Program to the three regional Inuit organizations.

The target dates to complete the transfer for the latter two will be January 1, 2011 and April 1, 2011, respectively. There is no clear deadline for the transfer of the harvester support program.

Eegeesiak said by having these programs run at the regional level, she expects response times will be faster for those needing assistance.

The Nunavut Social Development Council will be re-activated after it was scrapped in 2002. Established under Article 32 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, the body was to make recommendations on health, social, cultural and housing issues.

Now three regional representatives will sit on the council.

"One of the things we kept doing was putting social issues on the back burner," Eegeesiak said, adding that with a dedicated body to look into the issues more will be done.

Paul Quassa, former NTI president when the organization was founded in 1993, said the timing of the re-structuring is interesting given the change in leadership.

"They seem to be more reactive rather than proactive, if they want to get closer to the Inuit maybe they could have done that long ago," he said.

He said when the organization was founded 17 years ago its entire purpose was to meet beneficiaries' needs.

For Quassa, the move to give more power to the regional Inuit associations, means depleting the ranks of NTI.

"It wasn't the Inuit who created the three regions of the territory, this is a geo-political line that was drawn by the government of the day," he said.

Quassa brought up the example of the Makivik Corporation in Nunavik. Quassa said Makivik is one main organization, rather than a collection of regional groups. He said this type of model has the potential to work in Nunavut but now NTI is

getting lost among the other groups.

"It's the RIAs that seem to have more of a voice than the mother organization," Quassa said.

He suggested perhaps Inuit should have been consulted before the changes were put in place.

He said it would be fair to ask beneficiaries if they think the organization's structure should change or if NTI should be removed.

At the same time, he said he hopes that what is happening will be good for the territory and its people.

Eetoolook and Eegeesiak said that is their hope as well.

"Organizations don't get created never to be changed, you have to develop, grow and change with the times," Eegeesiak said.

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