Most workers get more days off, as Nunavut government starts holiday closures

(Updated Dec. 14, 5:15 p.m.)

Starting this month, the Government of Nunavut plans to enact holiday closure days, and that means all territorial government offices, with the exception of correctional services, health services and other essential services, will be closed down from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3.

All GN offices are set to close Dec. 23, Dec. 28, Dec. 29 and Dec. 30, which will be called “Holiday Closure Days”— “with the exception of designated facilities that must stay open,” the GN said Dec. 12.

Dec. 25, Dec. 26, Dec. 27 and Jan. 2 are considered statutory holidays under the Public Service Act, so GN offices will also be closed on these days, the GN said.

In an email sent to Nunatsiaq News to correct errors in a GN Public SA, the Nunavut Court of Justice said their facilities in Iqaluit will be closed from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2.

“The Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit is closed for regular business from December 23, 2016, to January 2, 2017, for the Government of Nunavut Holiday Closure Days. Only urgent matters will be dealt with during this time,” the NCJ said.

“The registry will be open for electronic filing only. If you need to file documents with court registry, you can only file via email during the holiday closure. For email contacts at the court registry, please visit this website.”

The changes are a result of the recent collective agreement between the GN and its unionized workers, under which holiday closure days replace the older “winter bonus days.”

All correctional facilities, including the Baffin Correctional Centre, Makigiarvik Correctional Centre and the Nunavut Women’s Correctional Centre, Isumaqsunngittukkuvik Youth Facility, Uttaqivik, the Rankin Inlet Healing Facility and the Kugluktuk Ilavut Centre, will remain open during the holidays.

Regional probation supervisors will be on standby to deal with breaches of probation and any other issues, the GN said, while emergency protection orders will be available throughout the holidays.

Acute health care services will also continue to be available during the holidays, the GN said.

The emergency management office and safety and procurement offices will be available for emergencies only.

And the Nunavut Liquor Commission will also close on Dec. 23, as part of the GN’s holiday closure days.

The commission will reopen on Jan. 3.

While the commission is closed, there will be no deliveries from the Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit warehouses, and no import permits will be issued in Rankin Inlet or Iqaluit, the GN said in a Dec. 13 release.

Permits will still be available for purchase at the Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk offices.

“The Nunavut Liquor Commission and the Government of Nunavut encourage everyone to celebrate safely this holiday season,” the GN said. “If you choose to drink, please do so responsibly.”

On Dec. 12, Premier Peter Taptuna also circulated holiday greetings on YouTube.

An earlier version of this article, based on information in a GN public service announcement, contained errors relating to the status of the Nunavut Court of Justice.