KRG, Nunavik orgs, hope to tackle social issues with help of new Makivik president

From left, Quebec’s Native Affairs Minister Geoff Kelley, KRG chair Maggie Emudluk, former Quebec minister responsible for Plan Nord, Nathalie Normandeau and former Makivik President Pita Aatami at a February 2011 meeting in Kuujjuaq. Emudluk said Makivik’s new president will have to assume the role as spokesperson for the region to both provincial and federal governments. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Kativik Regional Government chairperson Maggie Emudluk says she looks forward to working this year with new Makivik President and long-time colleague Jobie Tukkiapik on Nunavik’s social issues.

Tukkiapik was elected to lead Makivik Corp. Jan. 19 by a slim margin, the organization’s first new president since 1998.

Tukkiapik worked closely with Emudluk for many years in his previous job as KRG’s director general. Before that, Tukkiapik headed the KRG’s employment and training department.

At the same time, Emudluk worked closely with outgoing Makivik President Pita Aatami on several major files affecting the region, including cost of living subsidies, housing and Plan Nord.

“We’re going to go through some transition period with this leadership change, but then again, it’s not like Jobie is new to the issues,” she said. “As director general, he followed all the major files we worked on with Makivik.

“I look forward to continuing that collaboration with Jobie for the benefit of the region.”

Emudluk says social issues will continue to attract the attention of Nunavimmiut leaders in coming years, including alcohol and drug abuse and youth protection.

“We have to play a big role in this area,” she said. “It’s a big arena where there are a lot of players, and the region needs a lot of education and awareness.”

Emudluk hopes the KRG and Makivik can collaborate on more prevention programs this year, which she says are necessary to catch problems before they worsen.

Both KRG and Makivik will also have to be proactive on Plan Nord files that will have an impact on the region, Emudluk said, under the province’s 25-year plan to develop Quebec’s north.

Last fall, Emudluk and Aatami penned a letter to Quebec Premier Jean Charest asking that Nunavik be provided regular updates on how Plan Nord projects are advancing in the region.

“Besides housing announcements, we weren’t getting very much information,” she said. “We’d like to have the government come and explain what’s happening in the region.”

As part of that request, Nunavik leaders also asked for a public consultation on a pre-feasibility study prepared in 2011 by Quebec’s transport department, which looked at the potential construction of a road between Kuujjuaq and Quebec’s southern road network.

The province has responded to Nunavik on that file: officials from Transport Quebec will host a public meeting in Kuujjuaq Jan. 25 to share findings from a pre-feasibility study.

“It’ll be for the community to decide where this should go next,” Emudluk said.

As Nunavik’s birthright organization shifts gears under its first new president in 14 years, Emudluk said that Makivik’s new leader will have to grow into the role of spokesperson for the region.

“Pita had the capacity to talk to different levels of government,” she said. “He brought experience from the North to the South, and for that, he’ll be missed.”

At the same time, Emudluk acknowledged that “the region has spoken.”

“I think people want change,” she said. “And I expect we’ll have the same close collaboration with Jobie.”

Other Nunavik organizations have already expressed congratulation and willingness to work alongside Makivk’s new leader.

Lisa Koperqualuk, president of Saturviit Inuit Women’s Assocation, said she looks forward to working with Tukkiapik for the well-being of Nunavik’s communities and a greater role for Inuit women.

“We are proud of your courage and your willingness to take on the responsibilities and dedication as president and representative of the Inuit of Nunavik including those outside of Nunavik,” Koperqualuk said in a Saturviit news release Jan. 20.

“We look forward to a new and productive working relationship with Makivik and in the manner you have spoken of, a greater role for Inuit communities in decision-making and consultations.”