Inuit leaders left out of US-Canada agreement

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Inuit leaders were not consulted before an agreement was reached to allow U.S. icebreakers through Canadian waters say opposition members.

But Prime Minister Brian Mulroney says consultation was not required because the right to negotiate these activities is a federal responsibility.

A leaked government report says Canada has come to an agreement with the United States to allow movement of American vessels through Arctic waters claimed by Canada.

The Inuit use the passageway for hunting and fishing and should have been consulted said NDP member Bill Blaikie in the House of Commons this week.

They "have been moved around the North some of them have been dislocated ? to exercise Canadian sovereignty," he said.

During the 1950s northern Quebec Inuit were moved in two remote regions, later called Resolute and Grise Fiord as part of a plan to bolster Canadian sovereignty claims for the area. The Inuit were not told of the true purpose of their move until years later.