In the Nunavut Legislative Assembly

Jeannie Ugyuk, the newly-elected MLA for Nattilik, said in her first member’s statement June 1 that she’ll push for improvements to dilapidated buildings in Taloyoak and Gjoa Haven, and that there is an urgent need to do something about family violence. (PHOTO BY CHRIS WINDEYER)

The Government of Nunavut is spending up to $25,000 to help cover the legal bills of groups challenging the European Union’s seal products ban, Environment Minister Daniel Shewchuk announced June 2.

Qikiqtarjuaq’s Nattivak Hunters and Trappers Association and the Pangnirtung HTA will share the money equally.

A group of 17 plaintiffs, representing both Inuit and Atlantic sealers, filed suit against the EU in a European court this past January. They’re seeking the “complete nullification of the seal ban,” Shewchuk said.

The ban, passed by the European Parliament last year, contains an exemption for seals harvested by Inuit, but numerous Inuit representatives have ridiculed that exemption as meaningless, since the ban has caused seal pelt prices to plummet.

Taptuna: High Arctic transport study almost complete

Nunavut’s transportation minister says a study on the astronomical cost of transportation around the High Arctic is almost finished.

Peter Taptuna, the Minister of Economic Development and Transportation, said he’ll tour Arctic Bay, Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay this summer once the study is complete.

Taptuna told the house the study is “substantially complete.” He added it examines “how these issues are being addressed in other regions of the world with similar issues.”

High Arctic residents have had numerous complaints about transportation, including airfares to Iqaluit that cost thousands of dollars and spoiled and damaged produce shipped by food mail.

Ron Elliott’s summer plans: Grise Fiord and Resolute

Quttiktuq MLA Ron Elliott is moving out of Arctic Bay for the summer and into Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay.

Elliott, the only MLA to represent three communities, will live in Resolute Bay from June 19 to July 17, and in Grise Fiord from July 18 to August 20. He’ll spend time on the land and take part in the Operation Nanook sovereignty exercise.

“Every time I visit these communities, I want to stay longer,” he said.

Elliott will also be there to greet Auditor General Sheila Fraser, who’s slated to visit Grise Fiord in August. He said the visit would “provide her with the first-hand perspective on such issues as the high cost of living in the High Arctic.”

Fishery research slated for Cumberland Sound

The GN’s Environment Department, along with researchers from the federal fisheries department and two universities will conduct a major research project in the waters of Cumberland Sound this summer.

Environment Minister Daniel Shewchuk told the assembly June 4 that the project will study populations of fish and marine mammals in the sound, and will test alternative gear for catching turbot.

The study will use satellite and acoustic tags to study the movements of turbot and Greenland shark populations in the sound. It will also track killer whales, beluga, narwhal and bowhead whales, and collect tissue samples from harp and ringed seals.

Shewchuk said the research could help bolster Nunavut’s 500-tonne turbot quota.

Clyde River culture school gets first director

Jonathan Palluq of Clyde River will be the first director of the Piqqusilirivvik cultural school, Culture, Language, Elders and Youth Minister Louis Tapardjuk announced June 3.

Tapardjuk said Palluq’s job is get the new cultural school, which is under construction in Clyde River, up and running. Piqqusilirivvik will start taking applications from students in 2012, once 13 jobs at the school are staffed.

There will be 26 places available for students across Nunavut to study Inuit traditional skills at Clyde River, and satellite campuses in Igloolik and Baker Lake, Tapardjuk said.

Palluq was raised in camps between Clyde River and Pond Inlet. Tapardjuk said Palluq “brings strong knowledge of the land and traditional skills to this new position.”

Louis Tapardjuk, the Minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, speaks in the Legislative Assembly June 1. Tapardjuk announced that Jonathan Palluq of Clyde River will be the Piqqusilirivvik cultural school’s first director. (PHOTO BY CHRIS WINDEYER)