Jeannie Nowdluk of Iqaluit sells her sealskin crafts at the Northern Lights trade show in Ottawa on Thursday, Feb. 6. Nowdluk is a regular vendor at the show. (Photo by Patricia Lightfoot)
P.J. Akeeagok, president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, shares a laugh with moderator Victor Tootoo, president of NVision Insight Group Inc., during a Northern Lights conference session on community-led innovation in northern economic development on Wednesday, Feb. 5, in Ottawa. Akeeagok gave delegates an overview of the many benefits that will flow from the historic establishment of the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area in North Baffin, the largest marine protected area in Canada. He said he was honoured to share how they developed “a blueprint, really, of what a true conservation economy could look like. It was Inuit driven and Inuit led.” See story later on nunatsiaq.com. (Photo by Lisa Gregoire)
Elder Meeka Kakudluk, who’s originally from Qikiqtarjuaq and now lives in Ottawa, honoured the late Jerry Ell when she lit a qulliq to start an announcement event on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at the Northern Lights trade show for the proposed Kivalliq hydroelectric line and fibre optic link. She said Ell, a renowned artist and carver, made her qulliq, which she has used in trips around the world, including places like Norway and Hawaii. Ell, 59, died of cancer last month. (Photo by Jim Bell)
Northern youth who want to go to college, university or other post-secondary programs but are too afraid or nervous to do so just got a huge helping hand. Northern Compass, an offshoot of Northern Youth Abroad, took home this year’s million-dollar Arctic Inspiration Prize during a rousing event at Ottawa’s Shaw Centre on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The program aims to support youth from start to finish with a network of coaches, mentors and campus programs, in the hope of increasing success rates for northern students. From left: Karen Aglukark and Rebecca Bisson of Northern Compass; Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq; NTI President Aluki Kotierk, who helped present the prestigious award; and Jim Snider and Lois Philipp, also of Northern Compass. See full story later on nunatsiaq.com. (Photo by Lisa Gregoire)
Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal checked off all the boxes—from the promise of Nunavut devolution to broadband funding and climate change—during an opening luncheon speech at the Northern Lights conference on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa. Before hundreds of delegates, including Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq, several Nunavut cabinet ministers, Indigenous leaders and business people, Vandal said it’s a “pivotal time … where Canada has the opportunity, as well as the moral responsibility, to strengthen Arctic and northern communities. We need to make the most of emerging opportunities while ensuring that northerners are full participants and beneficiaries of growth.” Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell, who attended the lunch, said he would have liked Vandal to mention northern municipalities specifically but added he met recently with the new minister and is hopeful about his commitments. Read more later at nunatsiaq.com. (Photo by Lisa Gregoire)
The 2020 Northern Lights trade show is getting underway in Ottawa this week, bringing together business delegates from Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Nunavik and Nunavut for multiple workshops, discussions, exhibits and cultural events. The Arctic Inspiration Prize awards ceremony will be held there this evening. (Photo by Jim Bell)
