Nunavik co-op network pitches tours of the South to Inuit

Here’s what the trilingual flyer for the tours organized by the FCNQ looks like.

Here’s a twist on Arctic tourism: there are many tours to the Arctic for people who don’t live in the region, but now Inuit living in the Arctic can take their own guided tours of the South.

This summer, the “Inuit Adventures” division of Nunavik’s co-operative network, the Fédération des cooperatives du Nord-du-Québec, is offering a variety of tours targeting people from Nunavik who want to visit sites of interest in and around Montreal.

“Allow us to help you plan your summer of sun and adventures,” says the trilingual brochure from Voyages FCNQ.

Among the trips:

• a July 1 Canada Day trip to Ottawa;

• a visit to La Ronde amusement park in Montreal, along with an evening fireworks display;

• a day at Granby Zoo; and,

• a trip to the St-Eustache flea market.

The idea to offer Inuit-specific trips came out of a visit in the spring of 2012 to a “cabane à sucre” or sugar shack by members of the FCNQ.

That visit featured a traditional Québécois meal of maple-treats, such as crêpes drenched in syrup and maple taffy on snow.

But, as Sean McDonagh of the FCNQ’s Inuit Adventures told Nunatsiaq News, that wasn’t the only attraction: an accordionist got everyone dancing and he also learned a thing or two about Inuit skill on the accordion.

Many Inuit families from Nunavik now travel to Montreal during the summer months — some go south for medical reasons, but many also travel on trips offered through their employers or take advantage of the sizeable rebates on air fares offered by Air Inuit and First Air to beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.

But many Nunavimmiut don’t speak English or French, don’t have the means to rent a car to explore Montreal, and may not even possess a driver’s license valid for southern Quebec, McDonogh said.

The FCNQ’s trips include round-trip transportation.

And, if this summer’s offerings find eager clients, the FCNQ plans to offer more tours in the future, he said.