The report includes 30 recommendations on everything from funding better education for northerners to building housing fit for a changing climate.

"There's some very highly sensitive areas," said P.J. Akeeagok, president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. "There's no negotiations on certain points in terms of areas where we feel there's absolutely no way we see an opportunity for oil and gas."

The Arctic may be a hot commodity, with remarkable resource and tourism opportunities, but a conference has heard that Canada and the United States are barely out of the ice age when it comes to harnessing its growth.