Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Mary Simon wants to set up

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Mary Simon wants to set up a meeting similar to the Crown/First Nations Gathering Prime Minister Stephen Harper, reports Nunatsiaq News. “We want our own Inuit-specific meeting to focus on Inuit and Arctic issues,” she said. “We need to talk about some of the critical issues facing Inuit today.” Education and mental health services would be high on her agenda of discussion points if such a gathering were to take place, said Simon. Inuit have a distinct identity so ITK was not a participant at the Crown/First Nations Gathering on Jan. 24 in Ottawa. Inuit are constitutionally recognized as a distinct group through their culture and jurisdictions, Simon has explained. “From where I was sitting, it sounds like (the gathering) was about the renewal of the Aboriginal relationship with the Crown,” she said. “As first peoples, Inuit also want to have a very strong relationship with the government.”