Aboriginal self-determination and resource development activity - Environmental and Human Security in the Arctic - page 194

positive economic benefits in the region, but the beneficiaries wanted more:
they wanted improved socio-economic conditions. Despite the economic suc-
cess of the Inuvialuit and its corporations, many Inuvialuit people continue
to live in poverty and experience a lower standard of living. As profits are
reinvested into corporate initiatives, some members suggest the money might
better be spent on the people in the communities. As one Inuvialuit mem-
ber puts it in an interview on 2 October 2007, 'My way to measure success
is, sure you can make some money, you got to make money, but you also
have to reinvest it into the communities, in the people that put you there in
the first place.' This, the member suggested, means building programmes
that serve the community, and to that end suggested the community would
benefit from having a local women's shelter or homeless shelter available to
its citizens. With self-government, this type of development would be more
likely because the community would be less concerned about spending cor-
porate profits on social programming, as federal financing combined with tax
revenues would ensure the Inuvialuit could operate its government effectively
without drawing on its corporate side.
So, even as land claims provide compensation money that funds economic
development projects and ventures, the federal and territorial governments
remain primarily responsible for the provision of basic social services. With a
new self-government regime, decisions regarding programmes and services such
as education or health care could be transferred into the hands of the Inuvialuit
government. While they wait for the self-government regime to be finalized
and established, the Inuvialuit have been very successful in building a commu-
nity development division that delivers government programmes and services.
However, what this means is that they are basically administering someone
else's programmes. As one Inuvialuit member put it, in an interview on 2
October 2007, 'I think there is a big leap between that and self-government
where you are going to shape your own programmes.' In short, self-government
is more than just being a good corporate citizen and donating money to sup-
port local community initiatives and programmes (like Christmas hampers or
donating funds to the youth centre). In the end it is about social programming
designed to increase the well-being and security of citizens.
Like other Aboriginal groups that are not officially self-governing but that
have assumed more responsibility for governance in the region or community,
the Inuvialuit have accumulated a lot of experience in administering social
programmes, which is critical to preparing them for the next step. According
to the current IRC chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Nellie Cournoyea,
'the Inuvialuit have always had a vision for governing our region and people',
and this is why they have been busy negotiating a self-government agreement
that would see the federal, territorial and Inuvialuit governments respecting
and recognizing each other's role in governance in the Inuvialuit Settlement
Region (Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada 2007). Powers