7 Iqalummiut vie for 2 city council spots
City councillors will fill vote on March 8 to decide who gets the job
Iqaluit city councillors will decide on March 8 who they will appoint to fill two vacancies on council. (File photo)
A former Nunavut premier is among seven Iqalummiut who have put their names forward for a seat on Iqaluit city council.
Paul Quassa, who left his post as Aggu MLA in August to join Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. as a senior adviser, has applied for one of two empty seats, along with Lili Weemen, Noah Papatsie, Ookalik Curley, Samuel Tilley, Kimberly Smith, and Swany Amarapala.
Papatsie is a former Iqaluit city councillor who ran for mayor in 2019, and lost to current Mayor Kenny Bell. He went on to run for MLA in the Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu riding last year, and lost to P.J. Akeeagok, who went on to become the territory’s premier.
Weemen and Amarapala were also council candidates in the 2019 election.
City spokesperson Aleksey Cameron provided the list of contenders Tuesday morning after the deadline to apply closed at the end of the day Monday.
Each applicant will receive two questions from city councillors, prepare answers and share them at the March 8 council meeting, Cameron said. There won’t be any follow-up questions.
Then, there will be a ranked-ballot vote and a motion to instate two of the applicants as councillors.
Iqaluit residents had the month of February to send in their applications to city hall for the vacant seats.
Residents had to meet requirements, such as not being in debt to the city for $500 for more than 90 days and having paid their property taxes.
One of the two seats opened when former deputy mayor Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster took a leave of absence in September to run for the Iqaluit-Sinaa seat in Nunavut’s legislature. She later won that seat and resigned from council.
The other opened when former councillor John Fawcett left at the end of last year for personal reasons.
Council passed two motions after Brewster left to put out a call for applicants and to give consideration to Inuit women, as, since this council formed in 2019, two Inuit women have resigned from council.
Malaiya Lucassie resigned in 2020 after making a comment on social media that breached council’s code of conduct.
Coun. Sheila Flaherty has said in an interview that she wants Inuit women’s perspectives to be heard, and for representation to match what the public had voted in in 2019.
Since when does council vote for council members??? This is totally unacceptable. If there is a vacancy then the next in line from the election should be offered the seat. This is not council’s choice to make, it is the rate payer’s choice!! That’s why we have elections in the first place!!!
Nunavut Elections Act
Filling councillor vacancies
(3) If the office of a councillor becomes vacant for any reason before the next general election, the municipal council shall fill the vacancy as soon as reasonably practicable by appointing a person who is eligible to be a candidate for that office.
At least someone is paying attention, hopefully “Unacceptable” isn’t someone running for office anytime soon.
Because the next two in line arent the mayor’s good east coast buddy like the last time there was a vacancy. I guess they should have gone to the Mayor’s victory party to talk strategy.
Anyway, I like a few of these (youthful) names but I’m braced for disappointment.
Predictable
you don’t understand how council works, the mayor doesn’t vote. this motion was made by councilors and voted unanimously by councilors as the process they wanted.
it isn’t the mayors fault 6 random citizens elected to be councilors choose this process.
Believe it or not, Sheila Flaherty, a lot of people don’t vote based on race/ethnicity/gender. They vote for who the person is, what they’re capable of, and what they stand for.
What Sheila is doing here is planting a meme which subtly reads, “I am an Inuit woman, I am worth supporting because of this fact.” … To be that straightforward would appear opportunistic and crude, so the point is generalized, giving it the appearance of an ethical principle.
Does she/them/they even go to meeting?
from past posting about meeting attendance posted, Sheila was quite high on the list of missing meetings, not really a voice then
A lot do vote based on race, though, so it is important to have qualified Inuk candidates and representation on Council. Sadly, there will always be those that will refuse to vote for a cis-gender white male, even if he is the most qualified. I do emphasize qualified, though, as simply voting for someone because they don’t want a white man on Council can be a slippery slope.
Questions for Candidate Quassa:
How many of your former female staffers have quit their jobs?
What are your beliefs on respecting women in the workplace?
Questions for southern candidates- “Can you speak Inuktitut?”
“Will you retire in Iqaluit?”
Those questions are irrelevant for someone that is vying for a spot on Council. If they are qualified, engaged and committed to standing up for their constituents, race, creed, gender or language are a non-issue.
The idea that someone’s ability to speak Inuktitut is intrinsically linked to their qualification as a Councilor is absurd.
Where a person retires has no bearing on their ability to serve a community… ridiculous statement
You could equally ask that of many of the Inuk candidates. There are an awful lot out there, particularly the Iqaluit elite, who can’t speak Inuktitut. Does that disqualify them?
“4 Iqalummiut and 3 colonists vie for 2 city council spots.”
Why the need to be racist!?
A deep sense of misery, lack of of agency, a feeling of not accomplishing much of anything worth note… those are my guesses.
A lot of young people immersed in internet culture today simply enjoy recreational edgelording:
“An edgelord is someone on an internet forum who deliberately talks about controversial, offensive, taboo, or nihilistic subjects in order to shock other users in an effort to appear cool, or edgy.”
It should be said, this is consistent with, possibly even explicable by the comment above.
Edgelord aka troll
Basically… yes
Saying Colonist is not RACIST, still at that??? jesus very true….
Does that also make current (“Thule”) Inuit colonizers of Tuniit (“Dorset”) Inuit land? I mean, the Tuniit were here long before the ancestors of current Inuit were here.
Ssssh, you’re not supposed to say that part out loud.
It does put Inuit talking about colonizers in a difficult position though, and why it is so hard to take those that do seriously. Selective memory and history does weaken an argument.
When someone is judged for who they are based on the colour of their skin, yes. That’s racism. It doesn’t matter what colour your skin is or where you’re from. If you are placing judgement on someone because of how their skin colour looks. That is racism! Like it or not.
Also. We live in Canada. Canada is a multicultural country. Many people from different ethnic backgrounds live in Nunavut, more especially in the bigger communities. These people may have children who are born here and are thus “from Nunavut”. Born and raised. Like it or not. Not everyone “from Nunavut” has to be Inuit.
Stop with the blatant racism and let people live. We don’t live in the 1900’s anymore. Open your eyes to the rest of this country we live in.
Can we get a new mayor while we are at it?
happy to see Ookalik Curley’s name . very respected and respectful.
I give an A for effort and passion to Noah
Serious considerations to be made by council here. I wish them all the best in their forthcoming vote.
Lili Weemen – Anyone who wears a toque with Bender from Futurama deserves a shot on council.
Noah Papatsie – Sure, why the hell not?
Ookalik Curley – Mad respect to OC.
Samuel Tilley – There is only room for one Kenny at council. Sorry bruh.
Kimberly Smith – Punk enough to rock the vote. Fire.
Swany Amarapala – A strong, young female voice with XP.
Paul you have served the people of Nunavut in many capacities. Your opinions and for site have been seen and heard many times. Perhaps the people of Iqaluit would be better served by a new voice. I hope that those who choose the next councilors reach for new voices. That will listen to all citizens of Iqaluit. No matter gender race or religion.
It is misleading to focus on the “voice” of politicians today. Back in Stu Hodgson’s day, being on a council gave you a voice. Nowadays, you can get a very effective voice by using the media. Elected bodies now have a great deal of power to actually get things done, as long as they are aware of their group power and work to achieve goals, not just talk about them. If I were a councillor voting next week, I would want to know a) if the candidates thoroughly understood the power of council members under the CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES ACT, and b) thoroughly understood the needs of Iqaluit and Iqalummiut as related to municipal activities and c) had the intelligence and character to help council move in the right direction.
There are any number of media outlets thinkers can use to give voice to their ideas.