Kitikmeot mayors air many beefs about Nunavut government

CAMBRIDGE BAY — No one from the Government of Nunavut really listens to mayors in the Kitikmeot, and no one does anything to act on their concerns, says Charlie Lyall, mayor of Taloyoak.

When the mayors from Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven, Kugaaruk and Taloyoak met last week in Cambridge Bay for their yearly meeting, they realized that the GN hadn’t acted on some of their most pressing needs, such as urgent repairs to schools or ensuring that all airports have emergency generators.

Again last week, the mayors aired their beefs at the meeting, organized by the GN’s community and government services department.

But Lyall said all the talk was like “farting in the wind” because the GN wouldn’t do anything afterwards.

“What’s the point of having these meetings if nothing is followed up on,” Lyall said.

As an example of inaction, Lyall points to the windows of Taloyak’s school, which are so unstable that many are bolted shut.

This would be a problem during a fire — and anyone could break into the school if they really tried, Lyall said.

After publicly complaining about the doors earlier this year, Lyall said someone from the GN came to look at the doors, but they still haven’t been changed.

The main door at Kiilinik School in Cambridge Bay has also been broken since July. According to staff, the GN’s response to calls for repairs has been to cancel all after-school and evening activities at the school.

“There are things like that which the government doesn’t seem to care less about,” Lyall said. “They all say, ‘we’ll do something,’ and then nothing happens. They all say ‘yes we agree’ and that’s where it stands.”

What the Kitikmeot needs is an independent Kitikmeot regional council, similar to the group which met under the Northwest Territories, Lyall said.

As it stands now, the Kitikmeot hamlets have no one to lobby the GN to improve conditions, Lyall said.

The Nunavut Association of Municipalities has all Nunavut to worry about and isn’t likely to fight the region’s battles, he said.

And two of the region’s three MLAs are in cabinet and are unable to raise these concerns in the Nunavut legislature.

When asked who could pay for such a regional council, Lyall didn’t have an easy answer.

That’s because Kitikmeot hamlets are already broke, he said.