What we heard: Quttinirpaaq National Park management plan consultation report

1.0 Introduction

This report provides an overview of the formal consultation process conducted between summer 2022 and winter 2023 on the Quttinirpaaq National Park Draft Management Plan. It provides a summary of feedback shared with the Park Planning Team and how that input ultimately influenced the final product.

2.0 Background

The Canada National Parks Act and the Parks Canada Agency Act require Parks Canada to prepare a management plan for each national park and to review it every 10 years. Management plans are developed through consultation with Indigenous peoples, partners, stakeholders, and the public, and they serve as the key accountability document to all Canadians regarding the management of sites administered by Parks Canada.

Importantly, in Parks Canada’s Nunavut Field Unit (NFU), management plans also support decision-making to achieve measurable results in the implementation of the Nunavut Agreement and relevant Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreements - in the case of Quttinirpaaq National Park, the specific agreement is the Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement for Auyuittuq, Quttinirpaaq and Sirmilik National Parks (the Baffin IIBA). The Baffin IIBA requires that management plans be developed by a Park Planning Team consisting of an equal number of members appointed by Parks Canada and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA). Through this process, the Park Planning Team sets out context, vision, strategies, objectives, and targets for the park based on findings of the “state of” assessment and scoping submission.

2.1 About Quttinirpaaq National Park

Located on northern Ellesmere Island, Quttinirpaaq National Park is Canada’s northernmost national park, representing the Eastern High Arctic Natural Region in Canada’s National Park System Plan. Initially established as a National Park Reserve in 1988, Quttinirpaaq National Park protects 37,775km², and is the country’s second largest national park. Quttinirpaaq’s landscape is dominated by glaciers and mountains and includes a variety of uniquely adapted ecosystems, resulting in the protection of substantial biodiversity. Together, Parks Canada and Inuit are managing Quttinirpaaq National Park through the Joint Park Management Committee as outlined in the Nunavut Agreement and the Baffin IIBA.

3.0 Consultation and engagement process

The State of the Park Assessment and the Scoping submission - the first steps of the management planning process - were completed in 2018 and 2019 respectively. These documents provide a foundation of key issues and opportunities to be addressed in the new management plan. In order to facilitate meaningful opportunities to contribute to the development of the new management plan for Quttinirpaaq National Park, the Park Planning Team developed an engagement plan to solicit input from Inuit - especially from the adjacent communities of Resolute and Grise Fiord - government partners, stakeholders, and the general public. The engagement plan outlined two key phases, as described in the sections below.

3.1 Phase I: Development of the Draft Management Plan (Fall 2018-Winter 2019)

During the development of the draft management plan, the Park Planning Team undertook early engagement exercises to discuss key vision elements, themes, and shared interests for Quttinirpaaq’s new management plan. This engagement consisted primarily of in-person meetings with key Inuit stakeholders in the communities of Resolute and Grise Fiord (e.g., Hamlet Councils, local Hunters and Trappers Associations, Elders, and business owners), and individual meetings with other government departments in-person or virtually. Examples of the shared interests that were raised in these meetings and their connection(s) to the draft management plan is outlined below in Table 1.

3.2 Phase II: Consultation on the Draft Management Plan (Summer 2022-Winter 2023)

The formal consultation exercises conducted in 2022 and early 2023 sought to confirm the success to which the above shared interests were incorporated into the draft management plan for Quttinirpaaq National Park.

The general consultation approach was approved in principle by the Quttinirpaaq Joint Park Management Committee through the Scoping submission in 2018:

Representatives of the PPT will conduct in-person public consultations in the two adjacent communities. The PPT will use an open house approach for broad reach into the two adjacent communities. In addition, the draft plan will be placed on the Quttinirpaaq web page, the Consulting with Canadians website, and circulated to a mail list, for comment. Canadians-at-large will be invited to comment on the draft plan online. Upon conclusion of consultation, a public “what we heard” newsletter will be circulated.

In accordance with the above framework, the Park Planning Team developed consultation materials and a detailed strategy for engagement. Some highlights are listed below:

• consultation was undertaken mainly through face-to-face stakeholder meetings and open house presentations
• these sessions included a presentation on management planning and the development of the draft management plan and an overview of the draft management plan vision, key strategies and objectives, and zoning
• these meetings occurred in both Resolute (June 21-23 and July 11-14, 2022) and Grise Fiord (November 7-9, 2022)
• other targeted government department and agencies were engaged primarily through virtual discussion in Winter 2023
• in Resolute, as consultations took place during the summer, the Park Planning Team hosted a community barbeque in partnership with the Quttinirpaaq Joint Park Management Committee
• in Grise Fiord, in addition to face-to-face meetings, a radio broadcast was presented on the community radio to generate awareness of the project and to promote an upcoming open house event
• the radio in Resolute has been experiencing on-going technical difficulties, so a radio broadcast was not possible
• in both communities, print flyers with detailed background information about the management planning process, where to access the online comment card, and upcoming in-community open house meetings were distributed into local mailboxes where possible or were otherwise left for easy access at the local post office
• flyers advertising the open house meeting details were also displayed at various high-traffic locations in communities (e.g., Co-op store, Hamlet offices, hotel, etc.) throughout the week leading up to each event
• written materials were sent to any stakeholders for comment if face-to-face meetings could not be arranged

4.0 Who we heard from

The below sections give an overview of the estimated number and type of stakeholders who were consulted throughout the formal consultation period.

In addition to community consultations, the PPT reached out to key government departments and stakeholders with involvement or interest in Quttinirpaaq National Park virtually or via email, including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Department of National Defence, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Government of Nunavut, and the Inuit Heritage Trust.

Online consultation was open from June through to December 2022 through the Consulting with Canadians webpage, directing the public to the Parks Canada webpage. Here, information was provided on the development of the draft management plan along with an overview of Parks Canada’s management planning process (see Table 4 for details on the virtual reach of these online resources). Visitors to the site were invited to either fill out a comment card with specific questions about the plan or directly email their input to Parks Canada staff. Five written submissions were received. A link was shared on the Parks Canada social media pages and local Facebook groups in Resolute and Grise Fiord in English, French, and Inuktitut.

5.0 What we heard

Feedback from the Phase II consultation activities indicated that participants were generally very supportive of the proposed vision elements and the three key strategies identified in the draft management plan. The three key strategies that were developed for this management plan include the following:

No substantive issues were raised in consultations. Table A1 in Appendix A provides a detailed overview of all the comments that were received or heard in conversations during the Phase II consultation activities.

The majority of edits made to the plan as a result were editorial or minor in nature, namely to provide greater clarity to the reader. For example:

Zoning

Additional information on the meaning and purpose of each specific zone was added in the zoning section of the management plan (see Section 7.0 Zoning). This was mainly in response to several questions, especially from community members, about the meaning of zoning and the restrictions of each specific zone. While providing information about zoning, staff were clear to emphasize that zoning restrictions do not and will never apply to Inuit exercising rights-based activities in Quttinirpaaq or any of the Parks Canada sites in Nunavut. Nevertheless, it is important that the concept is well understood in order for Inuit and Parks Canada to effectively work together in protecting the lands within Quttinirpaaq, and also to promote the dissemination of accurate information to any Quttinirpaaq visitors who may be passing through Resolute and/or Grise Fiord.

Lake Hazen/Tasaliuk Basin Management Area

Further to the above, many comments received from consultation related specifically to the new special management area designation and shift from Zone I to Zone II in the Lake Hazen/Tasaliuk Basin Area. Language has been edited to emphasize that this change has been proposed in order to better consider opportunities for controlled research and small-scale visitation while continuing to ensure consistent and appropriate protection for such a special place. Objective 1 recognizes that future changes to the zoning of this area may be required if evidence shows negative impacts on the ecological and cultural resources of the area.

Connection with youth

Building and supporting further connections to the park, particularly for Inuit in adjacent communities, is an important theme embedded throughout the draft plan, and was a comment echoed throughout consultation conversations. Connecting and engaging with youth was especially highlighted as an audience that should be targeted, and minor edits have been made to the draft plan where appropriate to further highlight this priority (e.g., Target 3.1.1: “One outreach activity showcasing a story based on an understanding of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and science of Quttinirpaaq is available for staff to share and present within two years, with a priority on youth audiences where possible”).

International value

The immense international value of research conducted in Quttinirpaaq National Park - particularly studying the impacts of climate change - was highlighted by the research community in consultation exercises. Minor edits emphasizing the global importance of the park have been added where appropriate in balance with highlighting the local importance to adjacent communities.

Maps

All maps have been reformatted to meet updated Parks Canada cartographic guidelines. Further, the zoning and inset maps (Map 3 in draft management plan), which previously existed as two separate figures, have been combined into one for clarity and ease of reference.

The Park Planning Team received many general questions and comments throughout the consultation process. While many were outside the scope of a management plan, they were recorded and are valued for the insight they offer into the interests and concerns of adjacent communities. Wherever possible, Parks Canada staff answered questions in real time to community members, which was an excellent relationship-building opportunity through knowledge sharing. Below are some examples of the types of questions and comments received in consultation meetings that were general in nature and/or outside the scope of a management plan. They are organized broadly by category.

6.0 Conclusion

The new shared vision developed through this process will guide the management of Quttinirpaaq National Park for the next 10 years, as Parks Canada and Inuit work together to implement the key strategies, objectives, and targets. The management plan is not an end in and of itself, and Parks Canada will continue to maintain an open dialogue on its implementation to ensure that it remains relevant and meaningful.