The federal government and Inuit groups are celebrating a deal on the boundaries of what will be Canada’s largest national marine conservation area.
Lancaster Sound on the eastern gate of the Northwest Passage teems with fish, whales and seabirds, and Inuit have fought to preserve it for decades.
Political efforts to protect the area date to 2009, when the Harper government launched a study into how big it should be and where to put its boundaries.
Last summer, Shell Canada gave up exploration permits it held in the region that is home to most of the world’s narwhal.
The Lancaster Sound conservation area will be twice the size of Nova Scotia.