Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T21:47:49.806Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mixing Politics and Business in the Canadian Arctic: Inuit Corporate Governance in Nunavik and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2013

Gary N. Wilson  and
Christopher Alcantara
Gary N. Wilson*
Affiliation:
University of Northern British Columbia
Christopher Alcantara*
Affiliation:
Wilfrid Laurier University
*
Gary N. Wilson, Department of Political Science, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, British Columbia, V2N 4Z9, email: wilsong@unbc.ca.
Christopher Alcantara, Department of Political Science, Alvin Woods Building, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3C5, email: calcantara@wlu.ca.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Abstract. Over the past three decades, Inuit economic development corporations (IEDCs) have played an important role in preparing the Inuit regions of Nunavik in northern Québec and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Northwest Territories for self-government. In addition to building vital capacity through the provision of services, programs and economic opportunities, IEDCs have also represented their respective regions in self-government negotiations with other levels of government. This corporate-led governance approach, which we call Inuit corporate governance, provides Aboriginal groups such as the Inuit with a de facto form of self-government and the opportunity to develop economic and political capacity in advance of adopting a more comprehensive and formal self-government arrangement. It also challenges existing assumptions about the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the liberal–capitalist order that underpins the Canadian state.

Résumé. Durant les trois dernières décennies, les Institutions de développement économique des Inuits ont joué un rôle important en préparation à l'auto-gouvernance de la population Inuit du Nunavik, dans le Nord-du-Québec, et de l'Inuvialuit, dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest. En plus d'avoir permis le développement d'habiletés cruciales dans le domaine de l'offre de services, de programmes et d'opportunités de développement économique, les Institutions ont également contribué, à titre de représentantes de leurs régions respectives, lors de la négociation d'ententes portant sur l'auto-gouvernance avec divers paliers de gouvernement. Cette approche de gouvernance corporative Inuit fournit aux groupes autochtones, tels les Inuits, une forme d'auto-gouvernance de facto qui génère pour eux des opportunités de se développer économiquement et politiquement, en préparation à l'adoption d'un modèle d'auto-gouvernance plus élaboré et formel. Cette approche soulève également bien des questions quant aux fondements de la relation qui existe entre les peuples autochtones et l'ordre libéral capitaliste qui sous-tend l'État canadien.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 45 , Issue 4 , December 2012 , pp. 781 - 804
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abele, Frances and Prince, Michael J.. 2003. “Aboriginal Governance and Canadian Federalism: A To-Do List for Canada.” In New Trends in Canadian Federalism, ed. Rocher, François and Smith, Miriam. Peterborough ON: Broadview.Google Scholar
Abele, Frances and Prince, Michael J.. 2006. “Four Pathways to Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada.” The American Review of Canadian Studies 36 (4): 568–95.Google Scholar
Agreement in Principle concerning the amalgamation of certain public institutions and the creation of a Nunavik Regional Government. 2007.Google Scholar
Alcantara, Christopher. 2008. “To Treaty or Not To Treaty? Aboriginal Peoples and Comprehensive Land Claims Negotiations in Canada.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 28 (2): 343–69.Google Scholar
Alcantara, Christopher and Whitfield, Greg. 2010. “Aboriginal Self-Government through Constitutional Design: A Survey of Fourteen Aboriginal Constitutions in Canada.” Journal of Canadian Studies 44 (2): 122–45.Google Scholar
Alcantara, Christopher, Spicer, Zac and Leone, Rob. 2012. Forthcoming. “Institutional Design and the Accountability Paradox: A Case Study of Aboriginal Accountability Regimes in Canada.” Canadian Public Administration 55 (1).Google Scholar
Alfred, Taiaike. 2005. Wasáse: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom. Peterborough ON: Broadview.Google Scholar
Anderson, Robert Brent. 1999. Economic Development among the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada: The Hope for the Future. Concord ON: Captus Press.Google Scholar
Auditor General of Canada. 2007. “Inuvialuit Final Agreement.” Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the House of Commons. ch. 3. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services of Canada.Google Scholar
Berger, Thomas R. 1985. Village Journey: the Report of the Alaska Native Review Commission. New York: Hill and Wang.Google Scholar
Cairns, Alan C. 2000. Citizens Plus: Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian State. Vancouver: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Cornell, Stephen and Kalt, Joseph P.. 1998. “Sovereignty and Nation-Building: The Development Challenge in Indian Country Today.” American Indian Culture and Research Journal 22 (3): 187–214.Google Scholar
Coulthard, Glen. 2007. “Subjects of Empire: Indigenous Peoples and the ‘Politics of Recognition’ in Canada.” Contemporary Political Theory 6 (4): 437–60.Google Scholar
Dana, Leo-Paul, Meis-Mason, Aldene and Anderson, Robert B.. 2008. “Oil and Gas and the Inuvialuit People of the Western Arctic.” Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Community 2: 151–67.Google Scholar
Duhaime, Gérard et Robichaud, Véronique. 2010. “L'Économie du Nunavik entre 1983 et 2003.” Recherches sociographiques 50 (102): 45–73.Google Scholar
Fenge, Terry. 2008. “Implementing Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements.” Policy Options July–August: 81–85.Google Scholar
Final Agreement on the Creation of the Nunavik Regional Government. 2011.Google Scholar
Findlay, Isobel M. and Wuttunee, Wanda. 2007. “Aboriginal Women's Community and Economic Development: Measuring and Promoting Success.” IRPP Choices 13 (4) 1–26.Google Scholar
Government of Québec. 1978. An Act Respecting the Makivik Corporation. R.S.Q., Ch. S-18.1.Google Scholar
Helin, Calvin. 2006. Dances with Dependency: Indigenous Success through Self-Reliance. Vancouver: Orca Spirit Publishing.Google Scholar
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. 2006a. Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement. http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/al/ldc/ccl/fagr/nk/lca/lca-eng.asp (February 15, 2011)Google Scholar
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. 2006b. General Briefing Note on the Comprehensive Land Claims Policy of Canada and the Status of Claims. Ottawa: INAC.Google Scholar
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. 2009. Plain Talk on Land and Self-Government. Ottawa: Public Works and Government Services. http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/scr/nt/pdf/ptsp10-eng.pdf (January 12, 2011).Google Scholar
Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada). 2011. http://inuitcircumpolar.com/index.php?auto_slide=&ID=10&Lang=En&Parent_ID=&current_slide_num= (March 11, 2011).Google Scholar
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK). 2007. Building Inuit Nunaat: The Inuit Action Plan. http://www.itk.ca (March 11, 2011).Google Scholar
Inuvialuit Development Corporation. 2010a. About Us. http://www.idc.inuvialuit.com/about-us/ (October 4, 2010).Google Scholar
Inuvialuit Development Corporation. 2010b. Our Companies. http://www.idc.inuvialuit.com/our-companies/ (October 5, 2010).Google Scholar
Inuvialuit Final Agreement Implementation Co-ordinating Committee. 2005. Annual Report 2003–2004. Ottawa: DIAND.Google Scholar
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. 2007a. Inuvialuit CEDO. http://www.irc.inuvialuit.com (October 5, 2010).Google Scholar
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. 2007b. IBL Policy. http://www.irc.inuvialuit.com (October 5, 2010).Google Scholar
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. 2007c. Inuvialuit Self-Government Newsletter. (September)http://www.irc.inuvialuit.com (October 5, 2010).Google Scholar
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. 2009. 2009 Income Distribution Payments. http://www.irc.inuvialuit.com (October 5, 2010).Google Scholar
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. 2010a. IRC Board Summary News Letter. (June)http://www.irc.inuvialuit.com (October 5, 2010).Google Scholar
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. 2010b. IRC Board Summary News Letter. (March–April)http://www.irc.inuvialuit.com (October 5, 2010).Google Scholar
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. 2010c. Inuvialuit Education Foundation. http://www.irc.inuvialuit.com (October 5, 2010).Google Scholar
Irlbacher-Fox, Stephanie. 2010. Finding Dahshaa: Self-Government, Social Suffering, and Aboriginal Policy in Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Janda, Richard. 2006. “Why Does Form Matter? The Hybrid Governance Structure of Makivik Corporation.” Vermont Law Review 30: 785–822.Google Scholar
Joint Secretariat Inuvialuit Settlement Region. 2010. Inuvialuit Game Council (IGC). http://www.jointsecretariat.ca/igc.html (October 5, 2010).Google Scholar
Kavik-Axys. 2002. “Cumulative Effects Assessments in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region: Current and Potential Capability.” Report prepared for the Environmental Impact Screening Committee and the Environmental Impact Review Board, Inuvik, Northwest Territories.Google Scholar
Klengenberg, Charles. 1993. “The Inuvialuit Land Administration and Borrow Resource Management Issues.” In Granular Resource Requirements for Proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipelines: Technical Papers and Workshop Proceedings, ed. Mahnic, R.J. and Fujino, T.J.. Ottawa: DIAND.Google Scholar
“KRG, Makivik, Closing in on 1,000-Unit Housing Plan.” 2010. Nunatsiaq News. June 6.Google Scholar
Kuokkanen, Rauna. 2011. “From Indigenous Economies to Market-Based Self-Governance: A Feminist Political Economy Analysis.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 44 (2): 275–97.Google Scholar
La Federation des Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec. 2011. History. http://www.fcnq.ca.Google Scholar
Macdonald, Fiona. 2011. “Indigenous Peoples and Neoliberal Privatization. in Canada: Opportunities, Cautions, and Constraints.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 44 (2): 257–73.Google Scholar
Makivik Corporation. 2011. http://www.makivik.org (February 15, 2011).Google Scholar
Mifflin, Michael. 2009. “The Prince and the Pauper—Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and the Government of Nunavut.” Policy Options July–August: 92–96Google Scholar
Mitchell, Marybelle. 1996. From Talking Chiefs to a Native Corporate Élite. The Birth of Class and Nationalism among Canadian Inuit. Montréal and Kingston: McGill–Queen's University Press.Google Scholar
Morrison, David. 1989. “Radiocarbon Dating the Thule Culture.” Arctic Anthropology 26: 48–77.Google Scholar
Nadasdy, Paul. 2003. Hunters and Bureaucrats: Power, Knowledge, and Aboriginal–State Relations in the Southwest Yukon. Vancouver: UBC PressGoogle Scholar
Negotiation Framework Agreement on the amalgamation of certain institutions and the creation of a new form of government in Nunavik. 2003.Google Scholar
Newhouse, David R. 1993. “Modern Aboriginal Economics: Capitalism with an Aboriginal Face.” In Sharing the Harvest, the Road to Self-Reliance. Report of the National Round Table on Aboriginal Economic Development and Resources. Ottawa: Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.Google Scholar
Notzke, Claudia. 1994. Aboriginal Peoples and Natural Resources in Canada. Concord ON: Captus Press.Google Scholar
Notzke, Claudia. 1995. “The Resource Co-Management Regime in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.” In Northern Aboriginal Communities: Economies and Development, ed. Elias, Peter Douglas. Concord ON: Captus Press.Google Scholar
Political Accord between the Nunavik party, the government of Québec and the federal government for the examination of a form of government in Nunavik through the establishment of a Nunavik Commission. 1999. Montréal.Google Scholar
“Que. Inuit vote against self-government plan.” 2011. CBC News April 29.Google Scholar
Rodon, Thierry and Grey, Minnie. 2009. “The Long and Winding Road to Self-Government: The Nunavik and Nunatsiavut Expereinces.” In Northern Exposure: Peoples, Powers and Prospects in Canada's North, ed. Abele, Frances, Courchene, Thomas J., Seidle, F. Leslie and St.-Hilaire, France. Montréal: The Institute for Research on Public Policy.Google Scholar
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP). 1996. Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada.Google Scholar
Saku, James and Bone, Robert. 2000. “Modern Treaties in Canada: The Case of Northern Quebec Agreements and the Inuvialuit Final Agreements.” Canadian Journal of Native Studies 20 (2): 283–307.Google Scholar
Scott, Jacquelyn Thayer. 2006. “‘Doing Business with the Devil’: Land, Sovereignty and Corporate Partnerships in Membertou Inc.” In Self-Determination: The Other Path for Native Americans, ed. Anderson, Terry L., Benson, Bruce L. and Flanagan, Thomas E.. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Shadian, Jessica. 2006. “Reconceptualizing Sovereignty through Indigenous Autonomy: A Case Study of Arctic Governance and the Inuit Circumpolar Conference.” Doctoral dissertation. University of Delaware, Newark DE.Google Scholar
Slowey, Gabrielle. 2008a. Navigating Neoliberalism: Self-Determination in an Era of Globalization. Vancouver: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Slowey, Gabrielle. 2008b. “Unfinished Business: Self-Government and the James Bay Northern Quebec Agreement Thirty Years Later.” In Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada: Current Trends and Issues, ed. Belanger, Yale D.. Saskatoon: Purich Publishers.Google Scholar
Tully, James. 1995. Strange Multiplicity: Constitutionalism in an Age of Diversity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
White, Graham. 2002. “Treaty Federalism in Northern Canada: Aboriginal-Government Land Claims Boards.” Publius: Journal of Federalism 32 (3): 89–114Google Scholar
White, Graham. 2009a. “Governance in Nunavut: Capacity vs. Culture?” Journal of Canadian Studies 43 (2): 57–81.Google Scholar
White, Graham. 2009b. “Nunavut and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region: Differing Models of Northern Governance.” In Northern Exposure: Peoples, Powers and Prospects in Canada's North, ed. Abele, Frances, Courchene, Thomas J., Seidle, F. Leslie and St.-Hilaire, France. Montréal: The Institute for Research on Public Policy.Google Scholar
Wilson, Gary N. 2008. “Nested Federalism in Arctic Quebec: A Comparative Perspective.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 41 (1): 71–92.Google Scholar