Kinngait mayor hopes for ‘a bit of light before winter’ with GN support
Kinngait under supervision order following staffing issues
Some of Kinngait photographer Jimmy Manning’s work is included in an exhibit at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Manning is also mayor of the hamlet. (File photo by Arty Sarkisian)
A staffing struggle in Kinngait led to a request for a government supervisor six months ago and those struggles still persist today, says the hamlet’s mayor.
Mayor Jimmy Manning said he requested the Government of Nunavut appoint an official to help it manage its operations — a process formally knows as a municipal supervision order — for Kinngait shortly after the hamlet lost some key administrative staff, including its senior administrative officer.
Under Nunavut’s Hamlets Act, the community and government services minister can place a hamlet under municipal supervision for several reasons, including financial or operational difficulties.
Elected mayors and councillors stay in power with the help of a municipal supervisor to help the hamlet fix its problems.
Kinngait’s order took effect Jan. 26 with Louis Primeau joining the hamlet office as the Community and Government Services’ municipal supervisor. Coincidentally, the GN put Clyde River under supervision around the same time.
Louis Primeau, Government of Nunavut’s municipal supervisor, is overseeing the hamlet’s operations as it’s facing staffing issues. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Primeau is “overseeing the operations” in the hamlet and filling in for the missing administrative positions, Manning said in an interview on July 18.
Primeau is also looking for permanent staff members for the vacancies, Manning said.
“He’s trying to put the tools together to do his job,” Manning said. “If you don’t have tools, you’re not going to be able to build your boat.”
Primeau declined to comment for this story.
Kinngait’s supervision order is set to end on Jan. 25, 2025.
However, whether that’s the actual end date is still “up in the air,” said Janice Mathewsie, the hamlet’s assistant senior administrative officer. It all depends on when the hamlet can fill these vacancies, she said.
But Manning said he is hopeful that the municipal issues will be resolved in the hamlet in the near future.
“I think, down the road, we’re going to see a little bit of light before the winter, I hope,” he said
Wishing the best for a quick recovery to the Mayor and Council in service to the proud community of Kinngait, known previously by the name Cape Dorset my first adopted home in the Arctic.
Maybe it’s time to start grappling with the fact that Nunavut has too many communities with not enough people in them to run anything..
Thank you primeau, the GN, NTI, would only get their under performing acts together and turn that big waste of money in Ottawa called NS and turn it into a real school for training the bright minds in Nunavut. Into SAOs, asst SAOs, Housing Managers, Airport. Managers, financial officers, Admin officers, but no let’s not do that we may have real results,
I think it is time the community has a hard look at itself.
Now is the time to ask the tough questions and not be offended by some of the answers.
Kinngait historical gets outraged when things come up like the nickname of Cape Fear come out but has not dealt with the issues.
1400-1500 people is an small enough group to organize but no one wants to speak out. There needs to be strong local leadership to say enough is enough. We need to get the substance abuse issues under control. We need to get our kids under control and we need to make Kinngait a place that in the short term attracts talented people and in the long term develops its own residents into talented people.
In the last 10 years Kinngait has seen its share of great teachers, nurses, RCMP and hamlet staff decide that it was not the place to live because of the way they were treated by the community.
You see this with minor hockey every year. There are a few people fundraising and then the rest complaining that the hamlet isn’t doing anything. Minor hockey doesn’t run anywhere without the parent’s involvement…
There are some great people in Kinngait but it is a hard place to live when no one respect each other or things. There are millions of dollars in funding available but you need people willing to make change.
I believe one of the reason no one is able to stand up is because the leaders have their own issues and if they do stand up the are criticized
the fact is many GN employees have refused to move to few communities in Nunavut and this is one of the communities. If GN had any brains (doubtful) most of the GN positions should be given to many qualified ppl in the community. instant they keep flying ppl from Canada only to leave shortly thereafter.