Proposed Qikiqtait Marine Protected Area

Summary#

The Government of Canada is proposing an order to designate the Qikiqtait Marine Protected Area under the Oceans Act. If made, the order would “freeze the footprint” of activities in the area for up to 5 years, allowing existing and Inuit-permitted activities to continue while longer-term protection is explored. The proposal was published on December 21, 2024, and the public can comment for 30 days.

What it does#

• Designates a sea area around the Belcher Islands in southeast Hudson Bay as the Qikiqtait Marine Protected Area. The protection covers the water column, the seabed and the subsoil to a depth of 5 metres.
• Freezes the footprint of human activities for up to 5 years. No new human activities would be allowed in that time, except:
  • Inuit activities protected by the Nunavut Agreement and the Nunavik Agreement.
  • Marine scientific research, and activities for public safety, national defence, national security, law enforcement, or emergency response.
• Allows activities that were taking place lawfully in the 12 months before designation, or that were already authorized, to continue for the duration of the order.
• Explicitly lists classes of ongoing activities that would be allowed to continue, including:
  • Hunting and trapping, fishing, harvesting marine plants.
  • Temporary structures on sea ice, marine navigation, travel over sea ice.
  • National defence and Canadian Coast Guard activities.
  • Tourism, recreation, education, filming, scientific and community-based research, and Inuit knowledge/stewardship activities.
• Freezing the footprint is a temporary step while government and partners discuss longer-term options such as an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA).
• The proposal says enforcement would remain led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and that penalties for violations can be up to $8,000,000 (summary) or $12,000,000 (indictable).

Who's affected#

• The nearby community of Sanikiluaq, whose residents rely on the area for year‑round harvesting and whose local groups helped shape the proposal.
• Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) and other Inuit governance bodies involved in negotiating longer-term arrangements.
• Local harvesters and fishers, including those interested in small commercial fisheries for scallops, sea cucumbers and sea urchins.
• Researchers and community-monitoring programs that work in the area.
• Small-scale tourism and transport operators that use routes around the Belcher Islands.
• Federal departments and agencies involved in marine management (for example, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Transport Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard).
• If anything is unclear from the proposal, the document notes data gaps about the area’s commercial potential and limited socio-economic information.

Why it matters#

• Qikiqtait contains recurring polynyas (areas of open water within sea ice) and upwelling that support high productivity. This makes it important habitat for species such as polar bears, beluga, walrus, seals, migratory Arctic char and large bird colonies. Protecting the area helps sustain those species and local food sources.
• The area supports Inuit food security and year‑round harvesting in the Nunavut Settlement Area. The order is designed not to interfere with constitutionally protected Inuit rights under the Nunavut Agreement and Nunavik Agreement.
• The five-year freeze gives time for more research, community-led monitoring, and negotiations toward long-term, Inuit-led conservation (an IPCA). It is a short-term step toward reconciliation and Indigenous co‑management.
• The proposal would add 0.74% toward Canada’s marine conservation targets and aligns with national goals to expand protected ocean areas by 2025 and 2030. The government says immediate economic costs are expected to be small because many existing activities are explicitly allowed to continue.