Gloria Uluqsi prioritizes housing, elders’ care in NTI leadership bid
Candidate says greater collaboration needed to improve lives of Nunavummiut
Gloria Uluqsi is running in the upcoming NTI presidential byelection. Her platform focuses on housing, food security, elders’ care and improving education, training and employment opportunities for Inuit. (Photo courtesy of Gloria Uluqsi)
Nunatsiaq News is publishing profiles of the 10 candidates in Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.’s May 27 presidential byelection.
Growing up in an overcrowded home in Whale Cove helped shape Gloria Uluqsi’s determination to improve housing and quality of life for Inuit across Nunavut.
That experience continues to motivate her, she says, in her run for president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. in the organization’s May 27 byelection.
“Since I put my name forward, I’ve decided to put everything that I have to help Inuit to make positive changes with the challenges and issues that we’re struggling with,” Uluqsi said in an interview.
Uluqsi is one of 10 candidates in the NTI presidential race that will select a replacement for Jeremy Tunraluk, who resigned in January.
Now living in Iqaluit, Uluqsi began her career as a Grade 1 Inuktitut teacher and later held senior roles with the Government of Nunavut, including assistant deputy minister of strategic management in the Department of Human Resources.
She also served as dean of education, Inuit and university studies at Nunavut Arctic College and currently works as senior project director of the blue economy at the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.
“I work from the heart of collaborating with other people, whoever they are, especially if we are truly going to improve the lives of Inuit,” Uluqsi said.
Uluqsi said she would push for better tracking of housing projects while expanding Inuit training opportunities in the skilled trades.
“It’s important to link employment and training for Inuit so that there’s more skilled labour to meet housing demand,” she said.
She also said Inuit hunters and harvesters need greater support because food costs remain high across Nunavut.
“We really need to look at increasing subsidies for equipment, fuel and supplies for harvesting, to support Inuit,” she said.
Uluqsi said if elected she would focus on improving home-care programs and expanding support for elders across Nunavut.
She also said she would push to remove taxes on elders’ employment income, arguing it would allow them to better continue sharing language, culture and tradition.
During recent campaign visits to communities including Cambridge Bay and Pangnirtung, Uluqsi said many Inuit have told her they feel disconnected from NTI leadership.
“They don’t feel heard,” she said. “They feel that they don’t know what work is happening at NTI.”
If elected, she said improving communication between NTI and communities would be a priority.
“I am a candidate who is new and I provide a new perspective, and truly want to be the voice of Inuit,” she said.
Best of luck Gloria
nope…if you like this version of NTI and Inuit orgs this choice is for you. Understand this very clearly. It only benefits employees of NTI KIA QIA KIA. At the cost of your beneficiary money, they drive around in big trucks no rides offered, expensive cell phones, and big-high employees that do nothing but eat up you money And, hold agms in Greenland and southern cities. If this is for you this is who you vote.
This sound a lot like , the stuff , you see at Makivik , ” BIG TRUCKS ” while the people walk in the dead of winter .
This is so accurate. The Inuit org. staff prance around superiorly over the very people they work for. Act smarter, cleaner, richer better than thou. They avoid holding meetings in smaller communities-they avoid interacting with the lessor. The disconnect is extremely evident in public areas. Their lawyers have zero knowledge of community issues and challenges, qallunaat staff approach solutions from a southern perspective and the Inuit staff- well are just really in it for themselves.
No… nunavik car and truck owners going very very slow in their vehicle warm while atv behind at -33 wind chill…
If you want to give subsidies to hunters, you’ll have to ensure that hunting in Nunavut is done sustainably.
It cannot be a free for all for any hunters to kill as many animals as possible for profit. It must be regulated to make sure that wildlife can recover.
We have tired the other ones and this is one is educated and speaks Inuktitut and is listening to us for a change. Way to go Gloria.