Aglukkaq questions Greenpeace's agenda
Nunavummiut should look to other
Inuit leaders for information on seismic testing, says MP
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 28, 2014
INUVIK
Nunavummiut should not take southern scientists and environmentalists at their word when it comes to the potential dangers of seismic testing near Clyde River, said the MP for Nunavut.
This was the main message from Leona Aglukkaq, the federal minister of Environment, on the controversial plans by a company to do the testing in water off the northeastern side of Baffin Island - plans which have recently been postponed and are not expected to begin until at least 2015.
"The people of the Arctic are the world's true Arctic experts," said Aglukkaq during her keynote address to the Inuit Circumpolar Council general assembly in Inuvik July 22.
Along with stressing the superiority of traditional knowledge in the Arctic, Aglukkaq had some choice words for environmentalist group Greenpeace, which has recently teamed up with Nunavummiut who are opposed to seismic testing.
"The reality is that there are lots of environmental groups who say they can speak for and represent Inuit or aboriginal people," she said. "While at the same time, they campaign against our traditional way of life like the seal hunt. These groups do not base these campaigns on facts or science or traditional knowledge, but instead on what they view to be their moral high ground."
She also spoke of the organization's recent public apology to Inuit for their misinformed campaign against the commercial seal hunt.
"An apology is great, but it doesn't undo the damage that Inuit communities have felt as a direct result of their actions," said Aglukkaq.
This was the first time the minister had spoken publicly about seismic testing in Nunavut waters since Clyde River residents, including Mayor Jerry Natanine, publicly opposed the National Energy Board's approval of the seismic testing project, citing concerns on the impacts it will have on their ability to harvest country food.
Later, Aglukkaq expanded on her comments to Nunavut News/North, saying that it is not her role to undermine an energy board decision, and that she is concerned special interest groups like Greenpeace are using Inuit to further their own agendas in the Arctic.
"I'm worried that various organizations like Greenpeace will not be truthful in the information," she said. "We've seen that with the seal hunt. They had lied about us, they had misinformed the world. So, as far as I'm concerned, in my view they have no credibility."
She added that it worries her those groups who used to oppose Inuit are now travelling to communities and worrying residents about the future of their country foods.
Aglukkaq would like to see Nunavummiut look just outside their borders and ask Inuit leaders in Greenland and the NWT about the impacts seismic testing has had on their wildlife.
"Right next door, in Greenland, they've done (seismic testing)," she said. "What impact did that have on our whales and our fish off Baffin Island? It didn't have an impact. So, then you go to Inuvik, this is where it's happened. From Inuit leaders to Inuit leaders, you can be talking to each other to address the concerns of communities like Clyde River."
