Baffin students get lessons in politics from the pros

Students from Qikiqtarjuaq’s Inuksuit School visited the Parliament Hill office of Senator Charlie Watt on May 28.

Meeting Inuit politicians face-to-face and listening into a parliamentary question period were some of the highlights of a day-long visit to Parliament Hill with Senator Charlie Watt and his staff organized May 28 for a group of students from Qikiqtarjuaq’s Inuksuit School.

“It was a great day filled with wonderful surprises for the students from Inuksuit School, and it was a pleasure to be asked to organize their visit to Parliament Hill,” Watt said in a news release.

Their day started off with a visit to Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq’s office.

Then, Watt and Senator Dennis Patterson hosted the students for lunch in a Senate committee room.

They group then headed off for a visit to the House of Commons— arriving just in time for afternoon question period.

And at the end of the day the kids were treated to a tour of the Parliament that focused on Inuit features within the buildings.

“I felt it was important for these youth to have a tour that emphasized these buildings represent them too. I think it inspired and surprised them to find their culture here,” Watt said.

The Inuksuit School students stayed in Ottawa until June 2, as part of a student exchange with Ottawa’s Lester B. Pearson High School.

Earlier this spring, students from Ottawa traveled to Qikiqtarjuaq.