News quiz March 22 | A big court settlement, and the PM drops by

Quiz time! Let’s see who has been paying attention to the news this week.

1. Health Minister John Main says he’s frustrated by the federal government’s “delay tactics and for the refusal to come to the negotiating table” to reach a new funding agreement for the Non-Insured Health Benefits program that pays some expenses, including medical travel for Nunavummiut. What does he suggest he might have to do?

A. Get Nunavut to fund the program itself.
B. Start sending patients to U.S. hospitals and send the bills to Ottawa.
C. Hand the program back to the federal government to run.

2. When Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Iqaluit on Tuesday, Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok greeted him by saying “welcome home.” Where was Carney born?

A. Yukon
B. Northwest Territories
C. Alberta

3. Parents and students might notice a change when they return to school in Nunavut in the fall. What’s happening in the schools?

A. Inuit language education will become available for students in kindergarten through Grade 12.
B. A new curriculum will be rolled out for kindergarten and Grade 1.
C. School days will start and end one hour later, to accommodate bus schedules.

4. A landmark court ruling means Nunavut will get a share of a $32.5-billion settlement. What was the lawsuit all about?

A. Getting large tobacco companies to pay up for harms caused by smoking.
B. Suing pharmaceutical companies over harms from opioid-related deaths.
C. Seeking damages from beer and alcohol producers over the effects of alcoholism.

5. It was a whirlwind first week in office for Carney — he was sworn in as prime minister and named his new cabinet on March 14, then jetted off to England and France and made it back to Iqaluit by March 18. Who is the Crown-Indigenous relations and northern affairs minister in Carney’s new cabinet?

A. Patty Hajdu
B. Jenna Sudds
C. Gary Anandasangaree

Kugluktuk’s elementary school is seen in this file photo. A change is coming starting this fall for some students at Nunavut schools. (File photo by Dustin Patar)

Answers

1. C — Main, who is Nunavut’s health minister, says the Government of Nunavut might hand the program back to the feds if the current funding agreement isn’t renewed after March 31.
2. B — Carney was born in Fort Smith, N.W.T., and was raised in Alberta. Akeeagok said he welcomed the new prime minister as a “fellow northerner” during Monday’s visit.
3. B — It’s a new curriculum. Education Minister Pamela Gross called it “an important milestone” for the elementary education system, and it’s expected to be expanded all the way to Grade 12 by 2036.
4. A — It’s the tobacco producers that were targeted by the provinces and territories in the lawsuit. Nunavut will receive $97 million from the $32.5-billion settlement.
5. C — Gary Anandasangaree returns as minister for northern affairs and Crown-Indigenous relations.