Nunavik regional government to look at general elections

KRG councillors watch as votes are tallied Nov. 25 during the election of the council’s new executive members. Some Nunavimmiut say they would like to see KRG’s leadership open to general election. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

KUUJJUAQ — Some Nunavimmiut say the want to see their regional government leadership chosen by general election.

Just last week, the Kativik Regional Government’s newly-elected council members voted on new leadership, including new KRG chair Jennifer Watkins.

Councillors also appointed a new vice chair, Lucy Kumarluk — who was the only candidate nominated — and three other executive members.

But that doesn’t happen as part of a general election. In a region of 12,000 people, only 14 Nunavimmiut (plus a Naskapi representative) have a say in who sits on that executive committee, which manages the affairs of Nunavik’s regional government.

Many Nunavimmiut would like to be able to cast a vote for the KRG’s chair and executive members, said Quaqtaq councillor Tommy Arnatok last week during council meetings.

Other councillors agreed.

The conversation is happening more broadly, too, with Nunavimmiut across the region suggesting the current system is undemocratic.

“We Inuit have to collectively speak out,” a Nunavik man posted to social media. “Then our leaders will have a better understanding of our concerns. They get their direction from there.”

The KRG council has always been responsible for electing its own executive, dating back to the creation of the organization following the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.

The organization is governed under the Kativik Act, which provides for municipal elections in each of Nunavik’s 14 municipalities every three years, the most recent one last month.

Municipal councils are then responsible for designating one elected representative to sit on KRG’s council.

Each KRG council member has one vote and another additional vote if the population of the community the councillors represent has a population of more than 500.

“It’s been like that since the dawn of time,” said Philémon Boileau, head of the KRG’s legal department.

“It’s possible to change it, [but] it would require an amendment to the Kativik Act. And it’s very difficult to get those types of amendments.”

The act has been amended in the past: the KRG has been waiting on more recent amendments for the last four or five years.

Any time the act is amended, it needs to be reviewed, which is a time-consuming process.

“[It] would take at least year, and we don’t have the resources,” KRG’s executive director, Isabelle Parizeau, told regional councillors Nov. 26.

But changing the way people are elected is something the organization can consider; it’s just an issue that hasn’t been brought up before, Parizeau said.

“It’s worth looking into if it’s possible,” she said.

On Nov. 24, KRG councillors elected the regional government’s first new chairperson in a decade.

Watkins, a Kuujjuaq municipal councillor and health board administrator, surprised many when she won a two-way race against the incumbent, Maggie Emudluk, who had held that position since 2005.

The regional council cast 14 ballots for Watkins and 11 for Emudluk.

“You could tell it was time for change and new ideas,” Watkins said.

In addition to vice chair Lucy Kumarluk, the KRG’s three other executive members include Mary Pilurtuut, Eli Aullaluk and Muncy Novalinga.