Nunavik’s birthright org opens nominations for presidential election

Makivik Corp. president Jobie Tukkiapik, centre, poses with his two newly-elected fellow executives last January: treasurer Andy Pirti, at left and vice-president of resources development Adamie Delisle Alaku, at an Ottawa conference. Makivik staggers the election of its executive positions. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Updated at 4:00 p.m.

Nunavik’s Makivik Corp. has opened its nomination period for an election to choose a president for the corporation.

Nunavimmiut will vote for their birthright organization’s president on Jan. 15, 2015.

Nomination forms, available from local municipal offices or landholding corporations, must be submitted to Makivik by Dec. 1 at 5:00 p.m.

To be nominated or elected to the corporation’s executive, candidates must be Inuktitut-speaking beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.

But this year, Makivik has adopted some new eligibility rules for those who wish to seek a nomination for a position on the corporation’s executive.

Nunavimmiut convicted of an indictable offense who have served at least two years in prison must wait for a five-year period before they can run for Makivik’s executive or one of its community director positions.

The was reduced from a five-year term imprisonment to a two-year term, one of many changes ratified at Makivik’s annual general meeting earlier this year.

New rules ratified at the March AGM maintain that candidates are ineligible to run if:

• he or she has outstanding debts with the corporation or one of its subsidiaries;

• he or she are an employee of the corporation or one of its subsidiaries; or

• he or she takes part in activities that “could have, directly or indirectly the effect of disqualifying the corporation… from eligibility for contracts with any public body.”

The latter has to do with new Quebec legislation that requires the province’s financial market regulator (the Autorité des marchés financiers) to do extensive background checks before approving any public contracts.

Makivik oversees a number of subsidiaries, including Kautaq Construction. Should an executive or community director employed by the company face certain infractions, that could have an impact on the approval of a contract, Makivik said.

At the corporation’s March meeting in Ivujivik, Makivik directors also voted to give more powers to returning officers to call recounts if they encounter problems with the initial count.

And moving forward, Makivik elections will automatically oversee recounts in community director elections where the difference between two candidates is either five votes or equal to two per cent or less of eligible voters.

In the case of executive director positions, the threshold is one per cent or less difference in votes between two candidates.

Nunavimmiut last went to the polls to elect a president in January 2012, when beneficiaries elected Jobie Tukkiapik to a three-year term.

Tukkiapik beat long-time president Pita Aatami by just 23 votes, bringing a new face to Makivik’s leadership for the first time in 14 years.

Nunavimmiut can contact Jeannie May, Makivik’s chief returning officer for the election, at (819) 964-2925.