New faces at Nunavut organizations

Okalik Eegeesiak, the former president of the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, will sit on the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board. Eegeesiak has been named to the wildlife board by the Nunavut government.

The NWMB, composed of members appointed by either federal or territorial governments, oversees wildlife management in Nunavut.

“Ms. Eegeesiak’s experience and familiarity with the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement will be a great asset to the NWMB,” said Olayuk Akesuk, Nunavut’s minister of sustainable development, in a GN press release.

The Nunavut Social Development Council also has a new executive director, Simona Arnatsiaq. Arnatsiaq has coordinated women’s programs at the Qikiqtani Inuit Association for the past four years.

Arnatsiaq’s presence at the NSDC means the organization is now staffed entirely by Inuit.

“[It’s] good to have beneficiaries running the show,” said NSDC chair Mary Ekho Wilman.

Paul Crowley, an Iqaluit lawyer and the council’s former executive director, will remain with the NSDC as a special advisor.