My Little Corner of Canada

JOHN AMAGOALIK

The following is part of a speech I gave recently to a conference of community economic development workers:

There has been some criticism that the model we are building looks too much like the territorial government we have now. That may be true because it is difficult to move too far away from the form of territorial government that the people of Nunavut know and understand. But I think this is judging a book by its cover, because what we are doing at this time is building the outer shell of the government.

What will make the Nunavut Government different is not the office buildings, the departments, or its organizational charts. What will make the Nunavut Government different will be the people who will work in it. What will set this government apart will be what kind of direction the elected leaders will take. What will also make a difference is how well the bureaucracy of Nunavut carries out the policies of the elected leadership.

When I got appointed as Chief Commissioner of the Nunavut Implementation Commission in December 1993, I told some young people that what NIC was doing was like providing transportation to reach Nunavut. I promised them that we would get them there. What they do once they have arrived in Nunavut is really up to them. We cannot guarantee that Nunavut will work well and improve our lives. We can only build the house. What kind of home it becomes will depend on the people living in it.

We have a wonderful opportunity. We have the opportunity to avoid mistakes that others have made. We have an opportunity to look for better ways of doing things. We have an opportunity to build a government that reflects the best parts of our culture. We have an opportunity to strengthen our language.

Even though we want Nunavut to reflect Inuit, we must always welcome others and to make them feel a part of the Nunavut family as we will continue to be part of the larger Canadian family. Patience, tolerance, respect, and sharing must continue to guide our relationships with others.

Things will be different. Whether it turns out to be bad or good is up to us. I am confident that if we use the wisdom of our culture, things will be different… and better