Is Dennis Patterson eligible to represent Nunavut?

With the retirement of the Hon. Willy Adams, Senator for Nunavut, the Prime Minister had an option to nominate a new individual to represent Nunavut in the Senate. 

According to the Senates’s own website — http://bit.ly/zj6Hl — there are a few requirements to be eligible for this nomination. 

The most important of these requirements is that the nominee must reside in the province or territory that they are nominated to represent. 

How, then, is it possible that Dennis Patterson, a self-described resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, has been nominated to represent Nunavummiut, and receive the $130,000 per year salary and all associated benefits that go along with this appointment? 

Mr. Patterson has had a long and storied history of  political service in the north, but this is not the issue here, nor is his race, which has been brought up on many news website’s comment boards. 

Quite simply, he is not a resident of Nunavut, and therefore is not eligible to be nominated for this position.

The facts at the heart of this problem are simple.  Nunavut is a vast territory, with many challenges and issues.  Our entire territory has only two representatives at the federal level, one MP, and one Senator. 

We have the right to elect our MP, and the right to be represented by a resident of Nunavut in the Senate, which is guaranteed by the rules governing Senate appointments.  Who better to represent us, than someone who lives here? 

Prime Minister Harper seems to have completely ignored his legal obligation to nominate a Nunavut resident for this Senate appointment, and feels that no one in Nunavut is capable of representing us.  How would the residents of Ontario feel if 50 per cent of their representatives in the federal government were from Vancouver?  Imagine the uproar in Vancouver if half of B.C.’s representatives were from Toronto?  This would be front page news around the world. 

During the last territorial election, several candidates were disqualified as they could not prove their residency in the territory.  The most widely publicized case was that of Jack Anawak, who fought the decision in court, only to have his name withheld from the ballot.  If someone such as Mr. Anawak is unable to run for a seat in the Territorial Legislature, why are we forced to accept an outsider as our Senator?

Unfortunately, many people don’t follow these issues that can so drastically affect them, allowing this prime minister to effectively sneak a fast one by us.  This cannot be allowed to happen. 

The Nunavut government has expressed no opinion whatsoever, and there is no way Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. will speak out against this appointment, as Mr. Patterson is currently one of their chief negotiators working with the federal government to implement the land claim agreement. 

There was a short, cursory response from NTI’s James Eetoolook a few days ago, but nothing coming close to the position that should be taken up by all residents of Nunavut. 

Seeing as how Mr. Patterson had such a large role in the election of the Hon. Leona Aglukkaq, and the fact that her boss is the one who made this appointment, I believe that any complaints to her will effectively fall on deaf ears. 

We need to speak out, and have our  voices heard on this issue.  I implore you, Mr. Prime Minister, rethink your nomination, and appoint a resident of Nunavut to represent us in the upper House. 

Kyle Sheppard
Rankin Inlet

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