QIA extremely disappointed with Ottawas proposal to again award fishing licences to southern Indigenous group

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) says it is “extremely disapointed” with the federal government’s proposal to once again award Greenland halibut and northern shrimp fishing licences to the Nova Scotian First Nations Coalition Limited Partnership. According to the QIA, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ tentative plan to give the fishing licences to the Nova Scotia-based Mi’kmaq First Nations coalition undercuts Nunavut’s economy and the economic well-being of Inuit. “Inuit access to the commercial fishery still significantly trails the access enjoyed by southern jurisdictions — this has tangible impacts on Inuit and Nunavut’s economy and undermines Canadian security in the Arctic,” QIA President Olayuk Akesuk said on Dec. 9. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said the option to give the licences to the Mi’kmaq First Nations coalition is “a preliminary analysis and proposed course of action.” “The conversations are still happening. No decision has been made, and I encourage their participation as we move forward, before making a decision,” Federal Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson said in the House of Commons on Dec. 8. Thompson’s comments came during question period after Nunavut MP Lori Idlout asked why the QIA had not been awarded the licences. At issue are shrimp and Greenland halibut — or turbot — fishing licences adjacent to Nunavut in the Davis Strait. In 2024, a federal court decision stopped the Department of Fisheries and Oceans from awarding those licences to the Nova Scotia-based Mi’kmaq First Nations coalition and ordered a judicial review. Nunavut’s share of the Northern shrimp fishing quota is 38.5 per cent, while Atlantic-based fisheries hold a 90 per cent quota for their adjacent waters, the court stated. On Dec. 5, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans suggested to once again award the fishing licences in the Davis Strait to the Mi’kmaq First Nations coalition, this time based on the preliminary findings from the judicial review. The department said its process is fair and transparent, while taking the Nunavut Agreement into consideration. Both the QIA and the Mi’kmaq First Nations coalition have until Jan. 9 to respond to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ stance. “Prime Minister Carney speaks of nation-building through Indigenous partnership, but this approach does the opposite: it erodes trust, ignores the law and entrenches inequality for another generation of Inuit,” Akesuk said. The QIA, which wholly owns the Qikiqtaaluk Fisheries Corporation, said it’s assessing its options and will respond further early next year. The dispute over the fishing licences goes back to at least 2021, when QIA and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) took the federal government to court over issuing the licenses to the Mi’kmaq First Nations coalition. Seven Mi’kmaq communities formed the First Nations Coalition Limited Partnership and purchased 50 per cent of Clearwater Seafoods Incorporated in 2020.