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       Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, speaks at news conference in Ottawa on Feb. 28, 2019.

       Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

       Labrador’s NunatuKavut Community Council says a group representing Inuit in Canada has no authority to ask Ottawa to deny it access to federal programs and services.

       The council is responding to a letter last week to Ottawa from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed, in which he said the council makes fraudulent claims of Inuit heritage.

       Obed’s letter asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to exclude the NunatuKavut Community Council from Inuit-specific policies and services.

       The NunatuKavut Community Council issued a rebuttal Wednesday, saying ITK does not have the right to unilaterally determine Inuit identity.

       It says ITK’s claims rely on Eurocentric and outdated research about the council’s presence in southern Labrador, and Obed’s letter was “ill-informed and discriminatory.”

       The council says it has invited Obed several times to visit the unrecognized NunatuKavut territory and to learn about its people and history.