News quiz May 31 | Rifles, royals and leashing a loose-dog problem

Have you been keeping tabs on current events as they relate to the North? Let’s see — it’s quiz time.

1. Amid all the pomp and circumstance of the royal visit, King Charles managed to give a shout-out to one northern community in the speech from the throne he delivered in the Senate Tuesday. Which community did he single out?

A. Puvirnituq
B. Arviat
C. Igloolik

2. A representative from Canada’s auditor general’s office was in Nunavut again last week to deliver another report critical of services in the territory. What was the subject of this report?

A. Housing
B. Seniors’ care
C. Policing

3. Nunavut organizations aren’t the only ones coming under fire for poor financial management. Which Nunavik body was also blasted recently following an investigative report?

A. Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, the region’s school board
B. Inuulitsivik Health Centre
C. Kativik Regional Government

4. It will cost the Department of National Defence as much as $10 million to repair the C19 rifles it distributed to the Canadian Rangers in 2017 to replace the outdated Enfield .303 rifles. What’s wrong with the C19s?

A. The supplier no longer manufactures bullets for those guns.
B. In cold weather, ice builds up inside the barrels.
C. The wooden stocks are cracking from exposure to moisture.

5. Iqaluit is considering a controversial change to the way it handles its problem of loose dogs roaming the neighbourhoods. What is being proposed?

A. All unlicensed dogs will be rounded up monthly and shipped south.
B. Owners of unlicensed dogs will be located and face fines of $1,000 per dog.
C. That loose dogs can be euthanized within 24 hours of being caught, or 72 hours on weekends and holidays.

Kevin Kullualik, a patrol sergeant with Iqaluit’s Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, fires a C19 rifle in 2019. Why is the Department of National Defence facing a $10-million cost to repair those guns? Read the quiz. (File photo by Emma Tranter)

Answers

1. B — Arviat got the nod from the King, for newly appointed Nunavut Sen. Nancy Karetak-Lindell who was born in that community.
2. A — The subject was housing. Deputy auditor general Andrew Hayes said Nunavut faces “considerable challenges” with its goal of building 3,000 housing units by 2030. For one thing, only 18 new public housing units have been started since the program was announced in October 2022.
3. A — Kativik Ilisarnilirniq, which a provincial government report found went from running a $14.5 million surplus in its s2018-19 school year to a $26.7 million deficit four years later, was in hot water this week.
4. C — Blame it on the moisture and cold weather of the Arctic, but the Department of National Defence faces an expensive repair job it says will happen over three years.
5. C — Amendments to Iqaluit’s domestic animal control bylaw would allow dogs to be euthanized as soon as 24 hours after being caught. Third and final reading of the amended bylaw at Iqaluit city council is tentatively set for June 10.