Joe Arlooktoo, right, a former N.W.T. MLA and a two-term mayor of Kimmirut, receives the Queen Elizabeth diamond jubilee medal in 2013 from Dennis Patterson, then the senator for Nunavut. Arlooktoo died in December after a long career in public service. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Patterson)
Arctic Matters | Former senator pays tribute to longtime South Baffin MLA and former Kimmirut mayor
Nunavut has lost an elder statesman of the highest calibre — Joe Arlooktoo, mayor, three-term MLA, notable artist and community leader. He died in December at the age of 86.
Aggu MLA Edward Attagutaluk takes the oath of office at the Nunavut legislature in Iqaluit Thursday. He won the re-do election in Aggu after the initial October vote ended in a tie. The other 21 MLAs were sworn in in November. This week, Attagutaluk is getting oriented at the legislature, which he said he had never been inside before. “Igloolik is not being left out anymore,” he said, adding he’s “ready to get to work.” With him are RCMP Staff Sgt. Maj. Pauline Melanson, left, and Nunavut Commissioner Eva Aariak, right. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)