Aariak presses Harper on Nunavut’s needs

Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak said she spoke one-on-one with the prime minister during his Feb. 23 visit to Iqaluit raise some of the territory’s most pressing issues. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak welcomed Prime Minister Stephen Harper back to Nunavut Feb. 23, when the federal government visited Iqaluit to announce money for adult education across the North.

In a statement, the premier said she spoke one-on-one with the prime minister during his visit to raise some of the territory’s most pressing issues.

Aariak said the prime minister recognizes that devolution is an important key to giving Nunavummiut control over the future. “The Prime Minister assured me of his personal interest in seeing this file move forward and I am optimistic that I will be able to provide more details soon,” Aariak said in the Feb. 23 news release.

Aariak said she also urged the prime minister to consider Nunavut’s worsening infrastructure and the need for new housing across the territory.

“I pressed the Prime Minister for the need for a long-term federal commitment to Nunavut’s infrastructure that will unleash economic growth and stimulate a more robust private sector,” Aariak said.

“Finally, I spoke to the Prime Minister about the critical need for new housing construction in Nunavut to alleviate some of the most crowded conditions in Canada,” she said.

“Together Canada and Nunavut have built close to 1,000 new units since 2006, but 3,600 more are needed to ease the current backlog, as well as another 90 per year to match our population growth.”