Leona Attends Northern Lights Trade Show and Conference

January 30, 2010

Montreal, Quebec – The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Member of Parliament for Nunavut, Minister of Health, and Minister Responsible for the North, was pleased to have the opportunity to attend and offer  closing remarks at the Northern Lights Trade Show and Conference. 

“I am excited I had the opportunity to attend and participate in this exciting trade show and conference,” Aglukkaq said.  “Any opportunity to come together and give Canadians the chance to become better acquainted with what Canada’s Arctic and Inuit communities across the country have to offer will be beneficial as we move forward,” Aglukkaq concluded.

The Northern Lights Trade Show and Conference was hosted by the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Labrador North Chamber of Commerce to showcase the business and cultural opportunities of Canada’s eastern Arctic and northern regions.   The trade show featured a broad range of educational, cultural, and artistic exhibits from various businesses and organizations across the regions.   Events such as this provide a unique and valuable networking opportunity to the benefit of the north.




Minister Aglukkaq Speech
Northern Lights 2010
Ottawa, January 30, 2010

It’s great to be here in Montreal amongst friends and many other familiar faces from my home territory.
Before I begin, I must ask, does anyone have a Tofu pie?
In all seriousness, it really saddens me to know that another person could inflict harm on a human being to simply protest our way of life.
I’d like to recognize the hard work of many people including Minister Gail Shea for her ongoing dedication and for fighting for our rights to the seal hunt.
Inuit Tapirrit Kanatami has launched a lawsuit in the European General Court seeking to overturn this decision. Our Government has also launched a complaint with the World Trade Organization.
Sealers across this country, including Inuit in the North, have a right to provide a livelihood for their families. We are proud and strong people. We respect the environment in which we live. In fact, we are a product of our environment.
Hunting in Canada is not less humane than those practiced in other countries. We need to make sure people are informed that the seal hunt we have in Canada is humane and sustainable.
It will take a lot more than a pie to stop us.
I am glad I had the opportunity to raise this today, both professionally and personally. Occasions such as this give us the chance to bring people together to talk about important issues.
We all have something in common, and that is a passion for the north.
This is the year of the Inuit. Mary Simon, the president of Inuit Tapirrit Kanatami, launched this occasion to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities that face Inuit.
The Olympic Games is one way to bring this forward. It has chosen the Inukshuk as its emblem. The Inukshuk represents survival. We have been using this symbol for thousands of years. Olympic organizers say it also symbolizes hope, friendship, hospitality and teamwork. We should be proud that the Inukshuk helps to raise awareness of the environment we come from as we host people from around the world.
We have faced many challenges – seal products bans, changes to our climate, and the effect this has had on our polar bears. We are constantly responding to international criticisms of outside organizations that don’t have a true picture of what is happening on the ground. These organizations need to work with us, so that their decisions are meaningful, based on informed decisions.


We have Inuit communities in the Arctic, Northern Quebec, Labrador and the Inuvialuit region in the Northwest Territories. We may be a small group of people. But we are also a powerful group of people.
We must continue to stand united.
As Minister of Health, Minister responsible for the North, and MP of Nunavut, I am proud to be here at tonight’s event.
The Northern Lights Business and Cultural Showcase has offered Canadians the chance to become better acquainted with what Canada’s Arctic and Inuit communities across the country have to offer.
By highlighting the ongoing developments and capabilities of the North, I hope to inspire others to take on an active role in working to strengthen our communities.
This is a time of significant change for the North. The Arctic region is increasingly the focus of domestic and international interest. Our government has heard the call for action. We have made the North one of our top priorities, placing it higher on the policy agenda than it has been in many decades.
Since 2006, we have made a series of improvements to the regulatory regime in the North. We are developing this with feedback from governments, industry and residents to make Nunavut an attractive place to do business.
We’ve invested more than $180 million for infrastructure throughout Nunavut alone.
It is important that we always keep in mind that development in north includes jobs for northerners.
For instance, we’ve invested in a new harbour in Pangnirtung to help the community develop its turbot fishery. Work on the harbour will create local jobs right away. When it’s completed, the harbour will give fishermen in the region a reliable base of operations for years to come.
The construction of the Meadowbank Gold Mine in Baker Lake has resulted in more than a hundred jobs.  It’s pumped well over $170 million in Nunavut-based businesses. The long term will result in billions of dollars in investment.
Our government is also addressing the need for housing, health care, skills development and other services in the North.
Through the Northern Housing Trust, we have helped construct hundreds of new housing units across the North, laying the foundation for socio-economic development.
We have increased federal transfer money to the territory. We are also creating CAN-NOR, an agency specifically for the territories that is just another measure to further our development.
Our Government will continue to work with Northerners to build sustainable communities and develop the resources and tools Northerners need to play an even greater role in the Canadian economy.


We need to maintain a positive investment climate and we need all stakeholders to begin thinking about resource development and infrastructure priorities.
I realize it’s not cheap to do business in the north.
In the Northwest Territories, it took 42 years to get to the regulatory report stage for the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. This has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the private sector.
A similar project in Alberta took a year and a half to get through the regulatory process.
We don’t want to make the same mistakes. We need to work together to improve the regulatory regime in Nunavut and avoid what happened in the NWT.
We need to have strategies in place to invest our limited resources to make a big difference.
We have some good corporate citizens in the North who are not just making money – they are making donations to food banks, homeless shelters, and youth sporting trips.  I encourage other corporations who plan to do business in the north to do the same.
The Northern Lights Business and Cultural Showcase has been a wonderful opportunity to promote the North as a strong economic and cultural force within our Nation.
It is opportunities like this that we can get together once every two years.
What major projects and investments are needed to stimulate the economy?
 For every trade show, every mining show, I think it’s important to monitor how we are doing.
We all come together for professional and personal reasons.
But let’s make sure we produce results before the next time we meet.
 All levels of government have a role to play. So does Industry - whether it be oil and gas, shipping or transportation.
When we work in partnership with the federal government, municipalities and industry - great things can happen.
We all need to do our part to not just improve our economy – we must also protect our citizens and the jobs we already have.
Investment in the North is an investment in the South.
Thank you.