Nunavut government announces new, old appointments to DevCorp

Former Kugluktuk MLA Donald Havioyak now chairs the Nunavut Development Corp.’s board of directors. (FILE PHOTO)

The Government of Nunavut has announced they’ve appointed a mix of new and familiar faces to the board of directors that oversees the GN’s development corporation.

The Nunavut Development Corp. gained five new members, the corporation’s minister, Monica Ell, announced April 27: Iqaluit’s Elizabeth Kingston, Ottawa’s Malaya M. Rheaume, Kugaaruk’s John Ningark, Kimmirut’s Kolola Pitsiulak and Pangnirtung’s Sakiasie Sowdlooapik.

Each has been appointed to the NDC for three-year terms.

Returning directors include Kugluktuk’s Donald Havioyak, Igloolik’s Zacharias Kunuk and Cambridge Bay’s John Main, all re-appointed to the NDC’s board for three-year terms.

Havioyak, a former MLA for Kugluktuk, now serves as the NDC chairperson.

“The appointments are reflective of Nunavut’s regions and demographics,” Ell said in the GN release.

“Each board member brings a unique skill set to the corporation, enhancing the board’s ability to make sound decisions and support economic development in the territory.”

The corporation began life in the early 1990s as a Crown corporation called the Northwest Territories Development Corp.

After the creation of Nunavut in 1999, its Nunavut operations became known as the Nunavut Development Corp.

The investment agency oversees nine subsidiary companies in Nunavut, centred on traditional sewing and crafts, country food processing and commercial fishing.

The GN also gave its thanks to NDC’s outgoing directors for their service April 27, including Arviat’s Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Rankin Inlet’s Chris Rudd, Arviat’s David Alagalak and Gjoa Haven’s Louie Kamookak.