Debate heats up as Makivik presidential election nears

Makivik Corp. President Pita Aatami, left, signs a document at the launch of Plan Nord near Quebec City last spring, while Quebec Premier Jean Charest, right, looks on. On Jan. 19, Nunavimmiut will vote to return Aatami to a sixth term in office, or elect a new president for the first time since 1998. (FILE PHOTO)

Advance polls open Jan. 12 for Nunavik beneficiaries who plan to vote in Makivik Corp.’s Jan. 19 presidential election.

Beginning Jan. 12 at 9:00 a.m., eligible beneficiaries can go to their local municipal office or landholding corporation to cast a ballot before 5:00 p.m.

On Jan. 19, Nunavimmiut will decide either to give long-time Makivik president Pita Aatami a sixth term in office or elect a new president for the first time since 1998.

Three other candidates are running for Makivik’s top job: Kativik Regional Government director general Jobie Tukkiapik, Nunavik Regional Government negotiator Harry Tulugak and former Makivik president and long-time Senator Charlie Watt.

Read Nunatsiaq News’ profiles of all four candidates here. (Inuktitut-language profiles will be published in the Jan. 13 print edition of the newspaper.)

All four candidates are expected to take part in a live debate Jan. 17 on Nunavik radio.

A two-hour joint TNI-CBC Tuttavik broadcast is tentatively scheduled from 3:00-5:00 p.m. next Tuesday. The first hour will hear from candidates on their platforms while the second hour will open up the phone lines to questions from callers.

And if the social networking site Facebook is any indication, Nunavimmiut will have plenty to ask.

Facebook groups like Nunavik and the Nunavik Regional Government’s Final Agreement, as well as the newly-created Makivk Presidential Elections 2012 page have been busy with discussion on major election issues.

Since Makivik Corp. launched the presidential campaign, Facebook users in and outside the region have rekindled their online debate on regional issues that first started in early 2011.

That’s when the final agreement of the Nunavik Regional Government was released in a lead-up to the April 2011 referendum. More than 60 per cent of Nunavimmiut eventually voted to reject the agreement.

But many of the same regional governance issues are being discussed during this Makivik presidential campaign, as voters debate how they want their birthright organization to help shape a future Nunavik government.

Facebook users are concerned about Quebec’s Plan Nord and how it intends to benefit Nunavimmiut. They also want to know what kind of powers could come with self-government and how Inuit can exercise control over the region’s resources.

Here are a few other questions that Nunavimmiut Facebook users hope to post to Makivik candidates next week:

• Etua Putulik: Self government — what limit of power would it have?

• Kitty Annanack: The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement — can it be reviewed although it is protected in the constitution?

• Louisa Angutigirk: Would you give you and your board of directors bonuses from any of the subsidiary companies, and if so would you keep that confidential from the shareholders (beneficiaries)?

• Jobie Weetaluktuk: What are you going to do to fix the whole housing problem in Nunavik?

Apart from the Jan. 12 advance polls, election day is Jan. 19.

Polls will open that day from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at local municipal offices or landholding corporation offices.

Voters must be beneficiaries who are at least 18 years of age.

Voters in Montreal can cast ballots at Makivik Corp.’s local office. The organization will also have a staff member visiting Inuit organizations across the city with ballots.

Nunavummiut who are outside the region can also contact Makivik Corp.’s chief returning officer Maggie Aupalu at (514) 745-8880 to request a proxy ballot, which can be sent by fax.