1. Features of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement

The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA), also referred to as the Nunavut Final Agreement:

• Was signed on May 25, 1993 in Iqaluit by representatives of the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut (TFN), the Government of Canada (GC) and the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT);
  
  
• Was ratified by Inuit and the federal government according to the ratification provisions of the Agreement and came into force on July 9, 1993; and
  
  
• Involves the largest number of beneficiaries and the largest geographic area of any land claim agreement in Canadian history.
  
  

Today, there are approximately 23,000 Inuit beneficiaries in the Nunavut Settlement Area (NSA) formerly central and eastern Northwest Territories (NWT). The area conforms closely to the territory of Nunavut that came into existence on April 1, 1999. This area includes approximately 1.9 million square kilometers (one-fifth of the total land mass of Canada), as well as adjacent offshore areas. Inuit constitute approximately 85 percent of the population in the NSA.