Charlie Watt stresses experience, accountability

Charlie Watt is running for the presidency of Makivik Corp., the Inuit birthright organization for Nunavimiut, in an election to be held March 27. Every candidate is invited to submit a similar piece to Nunatsiaq News.

We know that Nunavik Inuit are strong, vibrant and creative people.

As president, I will develop our businesses to provide a solid foundation for: youth education, job creation, and for our social programs. We have a wealth of untapped resources in our people and we can be more competitive when our people are equipped with a solid education.

My strength is developing strong businesses, and I believe these will provide opportunities for our own people. As the former president and treasurer of Makivik, I have considerable experience working on behalf of the people of Nunavik.

During my time as president we established many successful companies including Air Inuit, the international shrimp company, First Air and others. We will start new companies and evaluate the old ones to make sure our people have new and exciting job prospects as we have done before.

I am aware and very concerned about the youth of our community. We are having problems taking advantage of job openings in our own companies and agencies because we don't have enough trained people to do the jobs.

If our young people are making the sacrifice to go to school to get better jobs to support their families, then we need to support them financially. We need to provide them with adequate education to be competitive in today's job market, and we need to provide them with job opportunities in Inuit owned businesses, in companies that serve our northern people, and beyond. Our job is to prepare them for success.

As president of Makivik, I will be sure that everyone who wants a job is given the opportunity to work. We will be establishing apprenticeship programs within Makivik Corp. and subsidiaries.

Social programs are a bridge which can help people cross from poverty and hopelessness into healthy living. Alcohol, drugs and depression can make a person feel like they are worth very little. We will invest in our youth and adjust our social programs and look for Inuit solutions.

Our families feel pressure because our houses are overcrowded. We will change this.

Our elders have a critical role to play in the development of our youth, and can provide mentorship in business, in language and culture. They can also provide knowledge.

Another strength that I bring is a solid understanding of our constitution, our treaties, and our relationship to the government. We rely on this knowledge because our treaties affect our ability to hunt, and to fish, our ability to govern ourselves, and our right to self-governance. This impact is felt everyday.

We need to be very clear about our responsibilities and our rights, because otherwise the government will impose their will on us. For this reason, I believe that tools like the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement need to be taught to our youth.

Inuit society needs to have an open exchange on whether or not our treaties are meeting our needs. We need a forum for open dialogue. All of these things are important.

Underlying all of this, I want to assure the people of Nunavik that I will insist on integrity and accountability in our businesses. Although we live in a region that is isolated from other parts of Canada, people in other areas need to have confidence in our ability to do business with them in an ethical way. We deserve to know that our leaders are treating us with respect and doing business with integrity.

Finally, I am committed to making Makivik accountable to the members. All Nunavik Inuit have opinions, and interests in Makivik, and must be free to express these opinions and know that their voices will be heard. This means that the beneficiaries will be consulted on major decisions, and know what Makivik is doing on their behalf.

Inuit are not empty-minded. We lack information, and deserve openness. I will make sure you receive information, and that your voice is heard! Our strength comes in working together, and maintaining the beauty of our culture.

I look forward to serving Nunavik Inuit as the president of Makivik.

Nakurmiik