Aivilik MLA Solomon Malliki suggested Tuesday in the legislative assembly that immigrants are “taking over” jobs that should be going to Nunavut Inuit. (Photo by Daron Letts)
Labour groups counter MLA’s comments about immigrants taking jobs from Nunavummiut
Immigration doesn’t prevent Inuit from getting jobs, as one MLA suggested this week — it’s actually a benefit to Nunavut’s workforce, say organizations representing workers and jobseekers in the territory.
Fred Novoligak, left, and Helen Mannilaq with their granddaughter McKenna Mannilaq Taipana, 4, and daughter Codie Bolt, 13, prepare for a boat ride up the Coppermine River from Kugluktuk on Monday. The family planned to fill four buckets with freshwater from the river, Novoligak said. They, like many locals, prefer freshwater to tap because it “tastes better.” (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Rita Pigalak, left, and Wilma Pigalak pick cranberries and blueberries for tea and muffins on a hill just south of Kugluktuk on Sunday. The tundra is so bursting with fall colours that it looks almost like the prairies in the old westerns, Rita said. “The only thing that’s missing is a cowboy on a horse,” she joked. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Dozens of cars, school buses, RCMP vehicles and fire trucks drive by the Cambridge Bay airport on Friday to celebrate the opening of Nunavut’s newest gold mine with honks and cheers. The parade is part of an all-day celebration organized by B2Gold Corp., which officially opened its Goose Mine on Thursday near Goose Lake, 400 kilometres south of Cambridge Bay. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)