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NUNAVUT
The time for review of the Nunavummi Nangminiqaqtunik Ikajuuti (NNI) Policy has arrived, as it does every five years, and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) is hoping to see some major changes to the policy as a result.

The Nunavummi Nangminiqaqtunik Ikajuuti (NNI) policy is intended to help Inuit businesses compete with southern companies for Government of Nunavut contracts, with the aim to strengthen the territory's economy and business community. - NNSL file photo

"Inuit small businesses are calling for change," said NTI president Cathy Towtongie. "We've heard from many Inuit firms."

The policy's purpose is to implement government contracting obligations under Article 24 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. It was modelled after the NWT's Business Incentive Policy and came into effect on April 1, 2000.

Since then, the policy has been reviewed every five years to keep it relevant to Nunavut's economy, explained the NNI Secretariat's executive coordinator, Ron Dewar.

"The policy itself, which is taking some language right out of Article 24, directs us to go through a comprehensive review and revision every five years. So this is a normal thing."

The secretariat oversees the policy, helps the Government of Nunavut implement it, and helps Nunavut businesses understand the implementation, Dewar explained.

The review process is conducted by the NNI Review Committee, which consists of representatives from NTI and the Government of Nunavut.

The review process generally takes a year and the recent release of the External Report to the NNI Review Committee, completed by Borden Ladner and Gervais, and the NNI Review Committee Report indicates its completion.

The public is now welcome to comment on the content of the review committee's report, which contains 22 recommendations based on the External Report to the NNI Policy Review Committee.

The review committee report released to the public is technically a draft because it has not yet been approved by the NTI board or Nunavut legislature.

Once it is, the Government of Nunavut and NTI will negotiate any changes or updates the policy requires.

According to both Towtongie and Dewar, this review doesn't come with a question of "will anything change' but 'by how much?"

"The economy and business infrastructure in Nunavut is evolving," said NNI Secretariat executive coordinator Ron Dewar. "The policies have to evolve in order to reflect the changes in Nunavut."

Little use for current policy

NTI's call for change comes from what they're hearing from the Inuit business owners they represent, said the organization's president.

"NTI has a lot of support from the Inuit small businesses, Inuit firms," Towtongie said. "They have been coming to NTI, meeting with me as the president and saying that the NNI policy is actually useless. That is coming from the local level."

She said one of the problems rampant across the territory is southern companies coming to work in Nunavut but bringing their own staff, equipment, materials, and sometimes buying houses in communities to avoid spending money on hotel accommodations.

"We have a situation in Nunavut where businesses are going into communities and they don't leave behind some of the economic benefits, expect for meals and incidentals," she said.

Among the most important changes NTI is looking for is the implementation of "set-aside" contracts for Inuit businesses, the creation of an appeals tribunal to replace the current appeals board, barring businesses who do not follow NNI policy from doing business in Nunavut for a set number of years, and creating stricter criteria for businesses becoming registered Inuit firms, among others.

Towtongie said a standardized data collection system applicable across Government of Nunavut departments would also allow for more accurate tracking of the policy's impact.

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