Land near Naujaat would have been included in the Nunavut Land Use Plan, which the Government of Canada, the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. rejected on Friday. (Photo by David Venn)

The three signatories responsible for implementing the long-awaited Nunavut Land Use Plan have rejected a draft version, saying “there remains further work to do.”

The decision comes three years after the Nunavut Planning Commission handed their recommended plan to the Government of Canada, the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

“While significant progress has been made towards a territory-wide land use plan, the parties recognize that additional work is needed to fulfill the requirement under the Nunavut Agreement,” says a joint statement from the three signatories, issued late Friday afternoon. “[The plan] cannot be accepted at this time, as currently drafted.”

Commission executive director Sharon Ehaloak could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

By 2023, the plan, which is mandated under the Nunavut Agreement, had gone through four drafts in 16 years. Its purpose was to divide the territory into categories for development and conservation. It included water, land and wild life, such as caribou protection measures.

If it were approved, the plan would have covered one-fifth of Canada’s land mass, making it the largest land use plan in the world.

In Friday’s statement, the signatories said they remain committed to advancing “a land use plan that provides certainty, supports responsible development and environmental stewardship, and reflects the long-term interests of Inuit and Nunavummiut.”

In their respective statements, federal Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand, territorial Environment Minister Brian Koonoo and NTI president Gloria Uluqsi did not provide a reason as to why the plan was rejected.