Nunavik youth association cancels summer gathering

Nunavik’s Saputiit Youth Association decided June 29 to cancelled a regional youth conference planned for next month.

The Qanak steering committee said it had “no other choice but to cancel.”

The gathering was scheduled to take place in Kangiqsujuaq in early July — the second edition of last year’s Qanak event in Inukjuak.

“We would have loved to build upon the momentum of Qanak 2010, but unfortunately, things do not always go as planned,” said Janice Grey, Saputiit’s vice-president, and Jonathan Epoo, its vice-president. “We must acknowledge that the cancellation could have been avoided.”

They said that there were many administrative and technical tasks involved— “and we did not succeed in meeting all the deadlines as required,”

The two said they wanted to “apologize genuinely to the youth of Nunavik.”

“We also want to apologize to the community of Kangirsujuaq for all the support they provided during the planning stages. We must recognize the people on the ground, who worked and planned so hard for us. The Qanak 2011 Steering Committee is very sorry for the time you lost. We hope that you will continue to work with us in the future.”

Grey and Epoo said that this year’s cancellation does not mean the end of Qanak, because the funding they had received for the 2011 event can be carried over to next summer.