Decolonizing Marine Safety and Shipping in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region: Looking inwards and to Inuvialuit for insights for reconciliation

Abstract

The governance of shipping in Inuit Nunangat has been evolving in response to a growing interest in polar navigation and a recognition that while such navigation is possible, it comes with unique risks and operating considerations. More recently, this recognition has also included an acknowledgement that Indigenous peoples have inherent rights in the region, as affirmed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which comes alongside a growing yet separate narrative of reconciliation. This thesis sets out to bring these two developments together to answer the question: Can marine safety and shipping initiatives contribute to the process of reconciliation, and if so, how? The primary source of information for this research was a workshop in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Western Canadian Arctic) with the Inuvialuit Game Council that sought to understand their experiences working with the Government of Canada on marine safety and shipping initiatives, and how these relate to the broader context and process of reconciliation. To support the interests of the Inuvialuit Game Council, this research offers options for marine safety and shipping initiatives that respond to the concerns of Inuvialuit and align with their interests and rights: an Inuvialuit-led monitoring and enforcement program, and a governance approach that integrates the actors and interests within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region with the national maritime administration and the broader Inuit-Crown relationship. The concepts of decolonization and reconciliation are then investigated to better understand what is required to achieve them. It is argued that reconciliation is about moving towards a new relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples based on respect of one another’s rights. This requires apologies for harms done, healing, rebuilding trust, and decolonization, and the consequential need for redistribution of power within the institutional framework for the governance of shipping to reflect and enable the desired new relationships. To support decolonization of governance structures and reconciliation, it is argued that ontological decolonization, particularly within the federal public service responsible for navigation and shipping, is essential to enable those tasked with finding new ways of working together to think differently and interact differently with their Indigenous partners. Learning from the experiences of the Inuvialuit Game Council and the researcher, this thesis concludes that marine safety and shipping initiatives provide opportunities, perhaps even a model, for decolonization, and if a new relationship is established and maintained through a marine safety and shipping initiative, then it can also contribute to reconciliation. However, truly achieving reconciliation requires greater institutional change within the Government of Canada.