ITK boss defends election debacle

Jose Kusugak, the president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, denies ITK’s board members have damaged their organization’s credibility with their abrupt, four-month postponement this week of an election to replace him as ITK president.

“I don’t know if the credibility of the organization would be jeopardized by it if the board of directors are suggesting it’s a critical time and getting, in their opinion, time to get a wider range of candidates,” Kusugak told reporters from around the Arctic in a hastily-organized telephone press conference held June 3.

On June 12, ITK’s board was scheduled to elect either Robbie Watt or Pitseolak Pfeiffer to serve as the organization’s new president, at a board meeting in Puvirnituq. Kusugak has already announced that he won’t be a candidate.

Watt and Pfeiffer, both well-educated young men with management experience within Inuit organizations, had been accepted as eligible candidates by the previously stated deadline for receipt of nominations – May 23.

Now, nearly two weeks after the nomination period expired, ITK’s board doesn’t seem to feel that the two men present an acceptable choice.

Saying they want time to seek more candidates, they’ve postponed the Puvirnituq board meeting until Oct. 20. That means the new deadline for receipt of nominations in the ITK presidential election is 5:00 pm., Sept. 20.

Pfeiffer, in a telephone interview from his home in Kanata, an Ottawa suburb, said it was a “shock” when he was told the news, only three hours before ITK’s press conference.

“Whether or not it’s fair, there’s nothing you can really do about it. There’s nothing that can be done about it. It was a shock, but I’m going to keep running,” Pfeiffer said.

He said he will redouble his efforts to persuade ITK board members, the only people who actually get to vote in an ITK presidential election, that he’s the best candidate.

When asked if he thought ITK’s board members have damaged the organization’s credibility, Pfeiffer provided a guarded answer.

“There’s certainly questions around process. They most likely have to be examined. People may look at this as potentially an ethical question,” Pfeiffer said.

He said he had a “good talk” with Watt on Tuesday, and that both will still stay in the race for president.

Kusugak wouldn’t say why Watt and Pfeiffer aren’t good enough choices for ITK’s board.

Robbie Watt, of Kuujjuaq, holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Manitoba, taught an interpreter-translator program for the Kativik School Board, and served as president of Nunavik’s Avataq Cultural Institute.

Pitseolak Pfeiffer, of Iqaluit, has served as vice president of operations and chief executive officer at the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, sat on the boards of the Nunasi Corporation and the Nunatta Sunaqutangiit Museum Society, and sat on the Iqaluit District Education Authority.

Kusugak denied that ITK’s board members postponed the election because they don’t like the two available candidates.

“There was no conversation about not having any confidence in them. They wanted to have a wider range of candidates from across the Arctic,” Kusugak said.

He suggested, though, that some of the regional presidents who make up ITK’s board may have been caught napping when the deadline for nominations came and went – and didn’t get a chance to nominate favoured candidates from their regions.

“I did get a few calls from people saying the date kind of snuck up on them,” Kusugak said. “Even when I knew the dates, to the minute, the time sneaked up on you. It happened so fast.”

Pfeiffer, though, says ITK staff did a good job in publicizing the election.

“I’m sure the staff at ITK did their job well. They’re pretty professional,” Pfeiffer said.

Kusugak also said that over the past two weeks, ITK and Pauktuutit officials have been talking about merging the two organizations ” to be in a strong national position to remind Ottawa who Inuit are.”

He said the national Inuit youth organization would also be unified with ITK.

ITK’s boss will now keep his $100,000 a year job until a new president is chosen in October. Kusugak announced last month that he is stepping down from the ITK presidency to spend more time with his family.