Kuujjuaq’s mayor says youth programs are her priority
Mary Johannes acclaimed to second term this week, as local elections held across Nunavik
Kuujjuaq Mayor Mary Johannes was acclaimed to a second term in office this week during local elections. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)
After being acclaimed to her second term as mayor of Kuujjuaq this week, Mary Johannes says youth programs are at the forefront of her plans.
“I was surprised that no one else ran for mayor,” she said, in an interview Thursday at the municipal office.
“I am glad I got all the support that I have, and I am looking forward to working with the new council.”
Local council elections were held across Nunavik this week. The are typically held every three years, but 2021’s vote was delayed until 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Kuujjuaq this week, voter turnout was 25.6 per cent, the lowest rate among the eight communities that have released their numbers.
Johannes said people “have to be involved,” and that the community of about 2,700 residents needs their participation.
“If they can speak out on social media or anywhere else, they can join themselves, be available and dedicate themselves to politics,” she said.
In an eight-way race for the six seats on council, the winners were Jennifer Munick-Watkins, Larry Watt, Claude Gadbois, Joseph Snowball, David Dupuis and Jobie Tukkiapik.
Many ran citing infrastructure for youth as their priority.
Kuujjuaq’s youth centre has been inactive for several years since the COVID-19 pandemic due to the building being old and unsafe.
Johannes said that by 2025, work will begin on a new youth centre with funding from Makivvik Corp.
Kuujjuaq’s swimming pool was also a hot topic for candidates. Constructed in 2007, the building has been closed for several years and is in need of repairs.
“I cannot promise anything at the moment,” Johannes said of the pool’s future.
“We have had a lot of problems with that. A lot of funds were used to have it operated for three to four months of the year. And it will get worse and worse because of the permafrost.”
She said she plans to see work done to repair the pool and “we will have to find funds because it is not cheap to build a new one.”
Johannes said that when she was first elected in 2022, it was a priority to stop the flow of illegal drugs into Kuujjuaq.
Drugs are “affecting a lot of our youth, and our elders are being abused,” she said Thursday.
“I worked closely with the police, and I voiced myself on the local radio that this is a big concern,” she said.
She said fentanyl — a drug Health Canada says is 20 to 40 times more potent than heroin and poses a very high risk of accidental overdose — has made its way into the community and there have been many overdoses.
“I still want to work hard to keep those toxic drugs away from our community,” she said.
“Those drug pushers know they are hurting a lot of families and breaking families apart.”
This summer, facilities were added at Kuujjuaq’s dump to implement a recycling program which will include plastic, metal and “anything that is recyclable.”
Johannes said staff is still needed to work there but it should begin operating in the new year.
As part of it, she said, special bins will be shipped to Kuujjuaq to help residents separate recyclables from their garbage.
The municipality is not adequately handling the dog population also. Its an ongoing nuisance. Another problem, We are having such strangers (unknown )coming the community like never before. They’re coming under the heading of construction workers , and other work groups that dont have the best interest of the community . Be kuujjuaq is still a small enough community whereby, the whole culture is threatened with being immigrates, not checked out properly. Demand also that southern works getting the new houses while inuit remain in old disrepair moldy units are assessed well, Theres a class separation going on. And Inuit are always pushed further to the lowest. Meybe fix the older houses for newcomers, and keep building newer for inuit.
We heard the mayor talk about drugs. Nothing adequate was done since she became mayor. Leadership needs to first of all deal with family members who are into selling drugs. Can anyone tell the news who in leadership had a family member arrested for drugs in recent times? We have a big drug dealer in kuujjuaq, big house , all kinds of cars , trucks , boats , skidoo’s, selling toys , big items continuously. The person has a regular job, his toys should be assessed by taxation. That person has a sister in leadership, others like that too. Get to the real culprits, including family associates.
Are , you talking about ,the ”BUS DRIVER ” ?
Drug dealers contribute to the death of about 500 people each, at least. . That’s including overdose victims, kids, and vulnerable people of society, suicide victims also. . Just think about the deaths in Nunavik, be contributing from even one drug dealer from kuujjuaq, not even counting the culprits from the south , and the other ones from the communities across Nunavik.
Are Eliminations draws legal? What about Bingos with 50K jackpots?
Maybe the mayor should look deeper into the illegal gambling in her community as a place to start making a difference.
Gambling, and the large amounts are incredible in kuujjuaq. Then we see fund raiser, for kids and the needed, next door to such high gambling prizes. Then wonder why people can’t pay their rent. Bingo is taking all the money, and the others are spent on beer and wine. Isuarsivik up on the hilltop, with no insight into any of this.
Are Eliminations draws legal? What about Bingos with 40K jackpots?
Poker tournaments. Don’t they need a gambling license to hold poker tournaments inside their government funded community center? 50/50 draws for the name of their unborn babies? The illegal selling of country food that is distributed by the community freezers and the locals are making a large profit from dried caribou meat or dried fish? The system in Nunavik is Broken. The town municipalities have to get control of these problems like many other behavioral problems that causes violence, suicides and murders.