Dan Vandal talks northern development

Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal checked off all the boxes—from the promise of Nunavut devolution to broadband funding and climate change—during an opening luncheon speech at the Northern Lights conference on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa. Before hundreds of delegates, including Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq, several Nunavut cabinet ministers, Indigenous leaders and business people, Vandal said it’s a “pivotal time … where Canada has the opportunity, as well as the moral responsibility, to strengthen Arctic and northern communities. We need to make the most of emerging opportunities while ensuring that northerners are full participants and beneficiaries of growth.” Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell, who attended the lunch, said he would have liked Vandal to mention northern municipalities specifically but added he met recently with the new minister and is hopeful about his commitments. Read more later at nunatsiaq.com. (Photo by Lisa Gregoire)