Liberal candidate in Nunavik’s riding promotes people-friendly policies

Léandre Gervais is running for the Liberal party in the Abitibi-James Bay-Nunavik-Eeyou riding. (HANDOUT PHOTO)

Léandre Gervais, the Liberal candidate for Abitibi-James Bay-Nunavik-Eeyou, says he stands for family values and responsible resource development.

The Val d’Or-based engineer and businessman also says he supports “developing the North with people of the North.”

“The strength of this region is in the exploitation of resources,” Gervais told Nunatsiaq News in a phone interview from Val d’Or. “But it has to be in harmony with the people who live in the region. The people who live here must participate and profit from resources development.”

The father of four says family values are guiding his election platform.

The riding that he wants to represent may be among the largest in the country, but Gervais said that similar issues resonate from every pocket of Abitibi-James Bay-Nunavik-Eeyou.

“We’re all working for the same things,” he said. “We want to have a good quality of life for our families.”

For Nunavik, that also means good quality food and shelter.

People living anywhere in the riding should have access to quality housing, Gervais said – although he didn’t elaborate on how the Liberal party might invest in more housing for Nunavik, if he’s elected.

“It’s a question of politics. It’s much more efficient to build houses for the Inuit to assert our place in the North than to buy fighter jets to protect the country,” Gervais said, referring to the Conservative party’s plan to purchase 65 F-35 fighter jets at an estimated cost of between $75 to $156 million each.

“[The Liberals] have decided to invest in the family because it’s provides the biggest return for the region,” he said. “Fighter jets and mega-prisons will do nothing for our region.”

If elected, Gervais says he also plans to make sure the controversial Nutrition North program benefits people in Nunavik.

“For a family, the most important thing is to have access to quality foods at a reasonable price, and that’s the responsibility of the federal government,” he said.

Under the Conservative’s program, “prices have become out of control,” he said.

But Gervais also maintains it doesn’t make sense to re-route food through different entry points since Val d’Or has served as the hub for northern food cargo for 30 years.

“We’ve built the expertise, the workforce, the infrastructure,” he said. “We have all that and in the span of a few weeks, the Conservatives took it all away.”

Although the expense of campaigning in Nunavik appears to be a major hurdle for candidates in Abitibi-James Bay-Nunavik-Eeyou, Gervais plans to visit Kuujjuaq April 20 and 21.

“I want to talk to the people of Nunavik and show my respect,” he said. “Some other candidates don’t think it’s a good investment [to visit Nunavik] but I find that absurd.

“It’s the Inuit who assert our sovereignty there.”

This won’t be Gervais’ first visit to Nunavik. He’s worked at Xstrata’s Raglan mine site in the past, and often goes fishing and hunting at Leaf Bay near Tasiujaq.

If the last election in 2008 has any bearing on this one, Gervais has a good chance of picking up votes in Nunavik on May 2.

Then, about 55 per cent of Nunavimmiut voters chose the Liberal party.

Gervais, who holds a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from the Université de Montréal as well as a degree in electrical technology from the Université de Québec, currently serves president of the Val d’Or industrial and commercial development corporation.