Iqaluit mayoral candidate Papatsie wants more co-operation

Noah Papatsie, currently an Iqaluit city councillor, says he would like to address the city’s burgeoning debt and youth issues. (PHOTO BY STEVE DUCHARME)

Noah Papatsie wants city council members to drop the negativity and co-operate to meet their objectives in the future.

He’s throwing his name into Iqaluit’s mayoral campaign in the hope that voters agree.

“I’ve been pushing for this ever since I got into council,” said Papatsie, who was first elected as city councillor in 2013 to fill a vacant seat left by the late Jimmy Kilabuk.

“There are a lot of problems in this city because no one works well with each other.”

Papatsie may have been referring to allegations by fellow councillor Kenny Bell concerning how the mayor and council dealt with a recent trip to Edmonton on the taxpayers’ dime.

Papatsie has since apologized for his actions and issued a clarification on the events.

Or he could be referring to a very public spat between a couple of city councillors and the mayor.

Papatsie also ran for mayor in October 2012, finishing third that year behind Al Hayward and the victor, John Graham, who resigned in June 2014.

Papatsie says that if he’s elected mayor this time, his first priority will be to get the city’s deficit under control.

On that issue, he is currently considering his options.

“Maybe we can tax people who are coming here or are staying here and don’t pay any tax,” he said.

Papatsie also wants to take a look at city services and to see what can be done more efficiently.

Since 2013, the City of Iqaluit has accumulated millions of dollars in deficits each year — with a projected total deficit of $10 million by the end of 2015.

Papatsie said he’s deeply concerned about council’s inaction on the city’s youth, because of a recent trend in arson involving youth.

“This curfew system needs to be fixed. We’ve had it before and it worked out, we can have it again,” he proposed.

Papatsie also said, in an interview with Nunatsiaq News, that he’s interested in exploring the possibility of a new facility to deal with troubled youth.

“To address that, to build one, to work towards a better situation — I think we can find a better solution for the younger generation and also for the older.”

As he looks back on his time on council, Papatsie said he is proud of the work achieved with the “Iqaluit Sustainable Community” project.

“Robyn Campbell, she’s done a great job, she has planned a great sustainable Iqaluit plan for the future, making Iqaluit look great,” he said.

“I’m really happy with where the direction is going at the moment because a sustainably great future would be nice and working together will be better and will resolve more problems that need to be addressed.”

Papatsie said he sees the sustainability plan as a good example of what can be done by city council when elected people cooperate.

“We have to work together as a team to move forward,” he said.

Papatsie, alongside former mayor Madeleine Redfern and incumbent Mary Wilman, are all vying for head of Iqaluit’s council in the upcoming municipal election. Nunatsiaq News is running profiles of all three mayoral candidates, in alphabetical order. Watch tomorrow for a profile of Redfern.

Eligible municipal voters will go to the polls Oct. 19, the same day as the federal election. You can also vote today if you want. Advance polls have been set up today, Oct. 5, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the Anglican Parish Hall in Iqaluit.