Canada

Canada-Inuit relationship portrayed as a model during NATO visit

Published 3:10 am Thursday, July 16, 2026

By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative

MP Julie Dzerowicz at the NATO Parliamentary Association meeting in Ottawa ahead of a three-day trip to Iqaluit from July 14-17. Photo courtesy the office of MP Julie Dzerowicz

The federal government’s relationship with Inuit is being used as a “very good model” to illustrate to 30 members of Parliament and representatives from 14 allied countries during a NATO visit to Iqaluit from July 14 to 17, MP Julie Dzerowicz said.

Dzerowicz chairs the NATO Parliamentary Association, which began meetings in Ottawa on July 13 and then travelled with Nunavut MP Lori Idlout to the territorial capital.

“I’m very proud of the relationship that we have, and I think it’s a good model to show our NATO parliamentarians. It’s not perfect. There’s no perfect relationship in the world, but I think it’s a very good model,” Dzerowicz said of the rapport between Inuit and the federal government.

The legislators and NATO delegates will receive briefings from the Government of Nunavut, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK).

Premier John Main will not be in town for the briefings, press secretary Joanna Awa said, and details of what the GN would share with the MPs were not made public.

NTI did not respond to requests for comment on what the organization would share with the NATO delegation, nor did it respond to Dzerowicz’s characterization of Canada’s relationship with Inuit.

“I think that the partnership that Canada has with with Nunavut, with Iqaluit, with our Indigenous peoples is very special,” Dzerowicz said. “I think we have formed a very special relationship with with the Inuit, particularly around defence and around the social modernization and the social efforts that are underway that need to be addressed.”

ITK President Natan Obed addressed the NATO group before the delegates departed Ottawa.

Canada is the only Arctic country uniquely dependent on an Arctic Indigenous people, ITK posted on social media, the only Arctic country to have brokered comprehensive treaties with Indigenous peoples, and Inuit are determined to ensure Arctic security takes into account respect for Inuit rights.

The NATO delegation will get a tour of military infrastructure in town, as well as Iqaluit’s deep-sea port as part of its fact-finding mission.

Dzerowicz said she was not permitted to share the locations of the military sites the group was visiting.

In May, the federal government announced a future Arctic long‑range marine radar site for Iqaluit.

“I think it’s important for NATO parliamentarians to meet with local leaders firsthand,” said Dzerowicz. “We’ll be meeting with a number of local leaders. We’ll be meeting with different groups that are part of the national defence efforts, and it’s important for them to meet with them firsthand and to hear from them firsthand and to ask questions of them firsthand.”

Dual use military-civilian infrastructure will be discussed on the trip, according to Dzerowicz. Canada has committed to spending five per cent of GDP on defence by 2035, and 1.5 per cent of GDP will go towards military infrastructure that benefits the public, Dzerowicz said.

Visiting representatives from NATO countries are not being identified, but are employed by the governments of Albania, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the UK.

There won’t be any opportunities for the media to ask the delegation questions about their visit while they’re in town, Dzerowicz’s office said.

Dzerowicz has visited Iqaluit once before, while travelling by boat from St. John’s, Nlfd.