Governor General starts tour of Churchill, Nunavut, Nunavik

David Johnston, the Governor General, visits Iqaluit in 2011. In this month’s Arctic tour, Johnston will not visit Iqaluit but will travel to eight other northern communities: Churchill and seven communities in Nunavut and Nunavik. (FILE PHOTO)

David Johnston, the Governor General, with his wife, Sharon Johnston, plan to visit eight Arctic communities this month on a tour that started May 4 in Churchill, Man.

The couple’s journey will take them around Hudson Bay, ending May 10 at Kuujjuaraapik-Whapmagoostui.

“We’re very much looking forward to meeting with families, community leaders and researchers and to hearing their stories about life and learning in this vast, important part of Canada,” Johnston is quoted as saying in a May 4 news release.

Johnston last visited Nunavut in January 2015, when he flew to the Canadian Forces station at Alert on Ellesmere Island. He also made an official visit in August of 2011.

Sharon Johnston has just published a novel, Matrons and Madams, based on her grandmother’s experience after the First World War, published by Dundurn Press.

Their tour schedule, which Rideau Hall released May 4, runs as follows:

• May 4, Churchill: Meetings with Churchill Mayor Michael Spence and tours of Inuit, Cree, Dene and Métis artifacts at the Eskimo Museum, followed by visits to the Parks Canada centre and the Churchill Northern Studies Centre.

• May 5, Arviat: Meetings with Nunavut Commissioner Nellie Kusugak, Mayor Bob Leonard and hamlet council members, followed by a visit to John Arnalukjuak High School and the presentation of the Governor General’s bronze academic medal to Shelby Angalik.

• May 6, Chesterfield Inlet: Meetings with Mayor Barney Aggark and hamlet council members where Johnston will “learn about the oldest permanent settlement in the Canadian Arctic and its community initiatives.”

• May 6, Rankin Inlet: Meetings with Mayor Robert Janes and hamlet council members to talk about entrepreneurship.

• May 7, Coral Harbour: Meetings with Mayor Jackie Netser to learn about the history of the area.

• May 8, Cape Dorset: Meetings with Mayor Padlaya Qiatsuk and a group of elders, with a community feast and visits to the new Kenojuak Cultural Centre and Print Shop. In the evening, they’ll attend the Full Gospel Church for a worship service.

• May 9, Salluit: Meetings with Mayor Paulusie Saviadjuk, village council members and reps from Makivik Corp., the Kativik Regional Government and the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, followed by a visit to Glencore’s Raglan Mine.

• May 10, Kuujjuaraapik-Whapmagoostui: Meetings with Kuujjuaraapik Mayor Lucassie Inukpuk and Louisa Mamianskum Wynne, chief of the Whapmagoostui First Nation. They will learn about the Pivallianiq program, which encourages people to take pride in their houses and communities, and then visit the Tasiurvik Kuujjuaraapik Family House and take part in a cooking class. Next, they’ll visit the Centre d’études Nordique’s Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuaraapik research centre.

For a full description of the GG’s itinerary, visit this web page.