Trudeau schooled on the North's pressing infrastructure needs during first trip to remote community

Inuit leaders had frank conversations with the prime minister and federal cabinet ministers on Friday about the urgent need to address a lack of housing and other basic infrastructure across Inuit homelands.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador's northernmost community, for the first time on Friday to co-chair an annual Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee meeting with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) President Natan Obed. 

The needs were apparent as soon as Trudeau's plane touched down on the community's short gravel airstrip located on the edge of the Labrador Sea. It was the first time a prime minister ever landed in Labrador's Inuit region of Nunatsiavut.

Nain's runway doesn't have any lights, which means no landings after dark — not even for emergencies. The closest health centre is a 1.5 hour flight away in Happy Valley Goose Bay, and the nearest major hospital is a five hour plane ride away in St. John's. 

Inuit leaders have been trying to raise funds to replace the airstrip for 15 years. They're also trying to address a chronic infrastructure and housing shortage that the federal housing advocate dubbed a "human rights failure." 

The Liberal government promised to fill the infrastructure gap in all Indigenous communities by 2030. So far, substantial investments have been made, but not nearly enough to bring about fundamental change, especially in Nunatsiavut.

"It isn't just that there are a few potholes in the road," said Obed, who is from Nain. 

"There's a basic lack of services in our communities that are in urgent need of repair or investment."

Housing was the first issue the committee discussed, Obed said. 

Overcrowding in Inuit communities stands at over 50 per cent, he added. 

Addressing that issue in Inuit Nunangat — the four northern regions that make up the Inuit homeland — would cost $75.1 billion over 35 years, according to ITK.

"We know the needs are significant, but we also know there are opportunities to create jobs, to create sustainable approaches to housing that are going to make a huge difference," said Trudeau in a media scrum following Friday's meeting.

"We will continue to do this in partnership because that's what reconciliation is all about."

Need for more deepwater ports in Inuit communities

The most recent federal budget promised $4 billion over seven years for urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing. It's still unclear how much Inuit communities would get. 

"Inuit leadership are very blunt at the table about the needs that still have not been met," Obed said.

"There is an expectation that we will work together on closing the infrastructure gap by 2030, which will require significant additional funds. We're not shy about recognizing that fact."

There's also a need for more deepwater ports to drive down the cost and reliability of supply shipments. 

"We depend upon the sea for our livelihood," Obed said.

Although the meeting ended with no financial commitments, Obed said it was a chance for the prime minister and cabinet ministers to see first-hand the challenges that Inuit communities face. 

"We have frank meetings," Obed said. 

"This is the most progressive government on Indigenous issues that Inuit have seen … we're willing to work with them and make as much progress as we possibly can without ever saying that we're done."