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Project on hold

Federal election delays national park agreement

Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Wager Bay (Nov 13/00) - The federal election temporarily bumped designation of Wager Bay as a national park on to the back burner.

The Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) and federal representatives were to meet last month in Repulse Bay to work out final details for the park.


Paul Kaludjak


KIA president Paul Kaludjak said it's uncertain when the negotiations will resume.

"We are hoping to have something scheduled by March," said Kaludjak.

"There are still some minor technicalities that need to be ironed out, including the watershed boundaries, but we're very close to an agreement."

The Inuit want to exchange an area of Inuit-owned land within park's proposed boundaries for land elsewhere.

Kaludjak is confident the final points will be ironed out.

A number of Kivalliq hamlets stand to benefit economically from the park.

"Repulse Bay stands to gain the most because we're looking at making the hamlet a staging community for the Wager Bay park.

"There will also be a large visitor's centre built in Repulse," he said.

Kaludjak said the KIA is hopes that Wager Bay will attract cruise ships and that they will include hamlets such as Coral Harbour on their stops.

"We're looking at Rankin Inlet in that light as well," he said.

"There will be a visitor's centre done on a smaller scale there and, hopefully, it will also be included in the tourists' visit to the Kivalliq Region."