Ex-Iqaluit resident becomes a Nova Scotia cabinet minister

A former Iqaluit resident who once worked for Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. is now a minister in Nova Scotia’s provincial government.

The Chronicle-Herald reported this week that Cecil Clarke, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Cape Breton North, will become the minister responsible for Nova Scotia’s Office of Economic Development.

Clarke, 34, received the appointment June 17, in a cabinet shuffle announced by Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm.

He became an MLA after defeating Helen MacDonald, then the leader of Nova Scotia’s New Democratic Party, in a by-election held in March 2001. The The Chronicle-Herald says Clarke told voters that he was the only candidate with a chance of getting into cabinet.

Clarke will also be responsible for Nova Scotia Business Inc., a new Crown corporation that provides handouts to businesses.

During the early 1990s, Clarke worked for the Iqaluit Chamber of Commerce, and as executive assistant to Natsiq Kangok, who was NTI’s secretary-treasurer.

In 1994, Clarke found himself at the centre of a minor controversy concerning allegations made by other NTI officials that he was using NTI travel money to do work on behalf of the Progressive Conservative party.

He left Iqaluit not long after that.