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News  Nov 4, 2015 – 6:43 pm EST

Trudeau names Nunavut’s Hunter Tootoo to DFO, Coast Guard portfolio

Tootoo one of two Aboriginal cabinet ministers

By NUNATSIAQ NEWS

Toronto MP Carolyn Bennett, no stranger to Nunavut, will serve as minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs. That will include responsibility for changing the Nutrition North Canada program. (FILE PHOTO)


Toronto MP Carolyn Bennett, no stranger to Nunavut, will serve as minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs. That will include responsibility for changing the Nutrition North Canada program. (FILE PHOTO)

Nunavut MP Hunter Tootoo will serve as minister responsible for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Coast Guard. (FILE PHOTO)


Nunavut MP Hunter Tootoo will serve as minister responsible for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Coast Guard. (FILE PHOTO)

Substituting the word “uvanga” for “I” in his oath of office, Nunavut MP Hunter Tootoo became the second Inuk in Canadian history to serve as a federal cabinet minister, following a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa Nov. 4.

At the same time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, sworn in earlier, named Tootoo as minister responsible for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Coast Guard.

“I look forward to working with you,” Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna said in a tweet following Tootoo’s swearing-in, one of many messages of congratulations to flow across the country on social media.

Tootoo’s appointment means two Aborginal MPs will serve in Trudeau’s cabinet.

The other is Jody Wilson-Raybould, a former Crown prosecutor and First Nations leader from British Columbia, who will serve as justice minister and Attorney General of Canada.

“It is also time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with indigenous peoples, one based on a recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it is also a sure path to economic growth,” Trudeau said in a statement issued shortly after he stepped into the prime minister’s job.

Trudeau did not name a minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, a position that the defeated Conservative Nunavut MP, Leona Aglukkaq, held in Stephen Harper’s government.

He also did not name a minister responsible for the Arctic Council, another responsibility that Aglukkaq held in the Harper government.

This suggests responsibility for Arctic Council matters may revert to Foreign Affairs, a portfolio that Trudeau gave to the former Liberal leader, Stéphane Dion.

Carolyn Bennett, the Liberal MP for Toronto-St. Paul’s, will serve as minister of a renamed portfolio: Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

Bennett has visited Nunavut many times and will be in charge of implementing the Liberal’s promised changes to the Nutrition North Canada program, which she criticized harshly during a 2012 visit as Liberal Aboriginal affairs critic.

On a campaign visit to Iqaluit this fall, Trudeau had promised his government would put $40 million more over four years into NNC, and also work with Northerners to fix it.

After she was sworn in to her new role, Bennett told reporters that she intends to consult with families of missing and murdered indigenous women before moving ahead with an inquiry, which many Nunavut voters said they wanted to see.

“We have committed to get going on this as soon as we can, and we’re going to have to immediately begin talking to the people who can help us get this right,” Bennett said.

“We can’t just step out and announce an inquiry, it has to actually do what the families need.”

Natan Obed, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, who also attended the swearing-in ceremony, congratulated Tootoo, Bennett and Wilson-Raybould in a statement released Nov, 4.

“I’d like to specifically acknowledge the new member of Parliament for Nunavut, Hunter Tootoo, who will be taking on the role of minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Canadian Coast Guard, and minister for the North. Having an Inuk in this foundational portfolio is an excellent step for Canada,” Obed said.

Obed said Bennett has “proven to be a fierce advocate of Canada’s Aboriginal people and I hope to build on this ongoing collaborative relationship.”

And Obed said he wants to meet soon with Wilson-Raybould.

“I am proud to see another Aboriginal Canadian serving on this Government’s front bench. I hope to speak to Minister Wilson-Raybould in the coming weeks on Inuit-specific considerations around the issues of justice and social justice.”

In another portfolio that affects the North, Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna will serve as minister of Environment and Climate Change.

She, along with Dion, will be expected to play a big role at the COP21 United Nations climate change meetings next month in Paris.

Taptuna confirmed Nov. 4 that he’ll attend the Paris meeting as part of the Canadian delegation, along with Nunavut’s environment minister, Johnny Mike.

“It is imperative that Nunavut have a voice at the conference,” Taptuna said.

Other new ministers in portfolios that affect Nunavut are:

• Bill Morneau: Finance;

• Jim Carr: Natural Resources Canada;

• Mélanie Joly: Heritage Canada;

• Amarjeet Sohi: Infrastructure and Communities; and,

• Jane Philpott: Health.

Young Inuit throat singers Samantha Metcalfe and Cailyn Degranpré performed at the ceremony.

Tootoo’s appointment also triggered a flood of commentary on Twitter and other social media platforms:

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