Money woes, self-government dominate mock parliament

Tough issues, high hopes and a touch of humour surfaced during Sivunivut, a Nunavik government forum held in Kuujjuaq two weeks ago, while a group of international graduate students were in the community on a special seminar.

Harry Tulugak, one of Nunavik’s two self-government negotiators, told the two-day event at the Kattitavik centre that the vision for Nunavik’s self-government is clear and simple: “kavamarumavugut” (we want a government.)

“I want a government. We need to become autonomous. No outside forces should be doing this for us,” said Eliyassie Sallualuk, an elder from Puvirnituq.

But many expressed high expectations about this new form of regional self-government, which will unite Nunavik’s existing organizations under a new Nunavik government body with expanded powers. Negotiators say they now hope to see this in place for 2011.

Paulusi Kasudluak, president of Nunavik’s co-op federation, said reducing the cost of living through tax breaks and cheaper transportation should be a priority for any new Nunavik government. Kasudluak said more co-op members are having difficulty paying their debts.

“We want a body that will help us reduce this cost of living. Once self-government is in place, I believe there’s this expectation that the cost of living will be reduced,” he said. “Our population in the North is struggling financially.”

On day two of the forum, Nunavik leaders acted out a mock parliamentary session, which was broadcast live on Taqramiut Nipingat Inc.’s radio network. A planned webcast on the Nunavik government site at www.nunavikgovernment.ca didn’t succeed at the last moment due to technical glitches.

But the show went on, and after ministers were named to their portfolios, the first topic of debate was education and how to better teach culture through the curriculum.

It didn’t take long for the question of money to come up.

Another matter up for debate asked the mock ministers to deal with a $60-million deficit. Finding more money, somehow, somewhere was seen as the key to solving the problem.

Sallualuk, as minister of finance, said the government could decrease the deficit through the development of renewable resources in the region — a suggestion that wasn’t universally popular.

The Kativik Regional Government’s regional council also came to the forum to discuss activities in its renewable resources department.

Maggie Emudluk told the forum that the KRG shows what the Nunavik government will be like. She said the KRG is already acting like a government, but without the powers to pass laws and hold universal elections.

Students in the seminar on “Self-Governance in Arctic Societies: Contemporary Dynamics and Trends,” who had been in Kuujjuaq since May 22, noted that the humour in play-acting the parliamentary system was missing when the KRG sat down to discuss real issues — but they were impressed.

“It was great to see people talking their native language instead of discussing in English about how to preserve it,” a seminar participant from Alaska told Nunatsiaq News.

A Québécois grad student said learning more about Nunavik’s desire for a government made him reflect on Quebec’s relationship to Canada.

Université Laval, the Canadian Circumpolar Institute of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, the University of Copenhagen, the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales and the University of Alaska Fairbanks helped organize the two-week seminar, sponsored by the International PhD School for Studies of Arctic Societies, which ended last June 2.