Kilikvak Kabloona is representing the Liberals in the race for Nunavut’s lone seat in Parliament. (File photo by Daron Letts)
Nunavut Liberal candidate says she is ‘up for a challenge’
Kilikvak Kabloona is running to continue the work of the Liberal government in the territory
Nunatsiaq News is profiling candidates in the April 28 federal election. In Nunavut, incumbent NDP MP Lori Idlout is running against Liberal Kilikvak Kabloona and Conservative James Arreak.
The Liberal government has been “very good to Nunavut,” says Kilikvak Kabloona, and she is ready to support it by “bringing Nunavut voices” to the federal discussion.
“There’s a lot of really important steps that have been started by the Liberal government and I think it’s important for that work to continue,” she said in an interview from Cambridge Bay.
Kabloona, 47, has served as CEO of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the territory’s land-claim organization, since 2018, but has taken a leave of absence to run in the April 28 federal election.
Prior to working for NTI, Kabloona was an associate deputy minister for the Government of Nunavut’s secretariat created in 2015 to respond to Nunavut’s suicide crisis.
Kabloona also worked as a political adviser to two premiers and two cabinet ministers.
“I have that experience of getting in to the right room, talking with the right people, and resolving long overdue issues,” she said.
Kabloona highlighted her role in negotiating the $1.5-billion implementation contract of the Nunavut Agreement between NTI and the federal and territorial governments that was signed March 8.
She also talked about NTI’s work in COVID-19 relief in the first years of the pandemic, teachers training initiatives and the organization’s work in drafting new fisheries regulations.
Those regulations, yet to be implemented, would help Nunavut move on from rules inherited from Northwest Territories that “don’t respect Inuit rights,” she said.
But it’s the Inuit Child First Initiative that’s top of mind for most Nunavummiut, Kabloona said.
The Inuit Child First Initiative supports a food voucher program and federal funding for medical and educational services for Inuit children. It was renewed for one year on March 8, but that renewal has yet to get parliamentary approval.
Making the initiative permanent is the reason Kabloona is running for MP, she said.
“I was asked by some of my elders to work on it becoming a permanent program. And I’m always up for a challenge,” she said.
She said she will also work with the federal government on issues like food insecurity, the infrastructure gap and Arctic security, making sure Nunavummiut benefit from federal military projects.
“My sense is [Liberal Leader] Mark Carney understands that Canada is an Arctic nation. He’s a northerner himself,” she said.
Kabloona lives in Iqaluit and is a mother of two daughters. She was born and raised in Baker Lake, with some relatives still living there. A few times a year, she goes back to the house that she lived in since she was 15, she said.
Kabloona is a hunter, seamstress and a culinary enthusiast who loves experimenting with country food and making new dishes.
Every day she is practising Inuktitut, she said.
“I’m able to do simple phrases. I understand a lot more, I hear a lot more, than I can speak,” she said.
“It’s a priority for me. I want to become fluent.”
As part of her campaign, Kabloona is planning to visit nine Nunavut communities before election day.
The CBC online news service censoring, the following comment was “deactivated” on a piece on the 17th of April.
Spill over into the state of the union is not welcome I know… But the silence we hear is to appease the billionaires that attended the presidential inauguration ceremony in January. The Empire is in trouble, we too are caught in the turbulence of its downward draft. See Greenland.
Vote Carney, he wants to double spending on the CBC, basically out of spite to the Conservatives. A stupid move honestly. I was considering a vote for him, but that’s an no deal for me.
I want to extend my best wishes to Kilikvak Kabloona as she campaigns for the upcoming federal election on April 28th. . I believe it is critical for Nunavummiut to really consider what is best for Nunavut. Having our lone MP with a seat at the table with the governing party is critical for our future. I have been a life long conservative, but I can not get behind Pierre Poilievre’s view for our country. I do not support his wish to cut and slash the public service, I do not support damaging public service pension plans, and I do not appreciate the Trump like rhetoric. I believe that Mark Carney is well educated, understands economies, and is best positioned to see our country and Nunavut advance. NDP is a loosing proposition and always has been. Lori’s does not really have much world experience, and has often been not invited to serious events and conversations because she sides against development and advancement for Nunavut. I am hopeful for a Liberal majority. I know that is amazing after the last 10 years of Liberal mishandling. But I believe they are our best option today. Happy campaigning Kilikvak Kabloona!
NTI has been such a do nothing organization for years now that it makes it really difficult to remove NTI’s accomplishments or lack of from her track record. You could perhaps argue the President of NTI was useless and that’s why the ship was not on the right track but that does not add up. Typically the CEO and COO in particular offer significant sway and advisory to a president making it very hard to not associate her with absurde tangents NTI went on and the overall lack of anything that resulted in actual outcomes.
There’s been money announcements through the years, but nothing came from it and ultimately without an actual outcome, its just political talk that resulted in nothing. NTI had separate tranches of money for infrastructure, housing, etc. Nothing came from it. NTI was Happy to announce they secured money for it though, hundreds of millions in announcements.
I don’t want to see someone who is just good a political talk and announcing they received funding, but we never seen any tangible outcomes. Those were big tranches of money that NU badly needed and just nothing…
And so it is hard to say, who is going to be better than the other? I don’t care for this JP money is my most important thing issue. This is just short term buying voters. Shame all three jumped on the ship because they know it reaches the most amount of voters I suppose and its in flux right now. That’s just cheap buying votes.
What the long-term, how do we get people in the work-force, how do we get out of this perpetual slump cycle, what are we going to do to modernize our workforce, because things are changing rapidly south and skillsets are quickly becoming obsolete.
I as a long term resident do not care about your short term, here ill give you some short term money. Where’s the recreation centers for kids in each community to promote healthy activity rather than nightly vandalism and early drug use. Where’s discussion of the poor attendance of kids in schools, abysmal pass rates for our inuk kids, even more abysmal post-secondary rates.
I want a long-term road-map. Stop trying to just get votes with short term incentive.
As a subsistence hunter I find it really hard to support the Liberal Party of Canada’s platform because the Liberal Party policies make it harder for my and my boys to buy firearms & ammunition legally .
Every year the Liberals are banning more and more types of firearms that I use to feed my family and I am at risk of losing more yet again.
Instead of the Liberals going after law abiding citizens who go though RCMP screening to get PAL/POL licenses they should be going after the illegal gun owners who purchase and possess firearms illegally, They need to lock these people up for longer, no chance of bail if you are caught in possession of an illegally acquired restricted or prohibited firearm.
No hunter worth their weight in salt needs a military-grade assault rifle, tactical rifle or sidearm. You’ll be fine. You’ll still be able to get the tools you need.
Amen.
Remember how the Inuk girl in the movie, “Snow Walker” got caribou?♥️
Any party who gets into power needs to respect indigenous people’s right to hunt.
I understand the need to get tough on gun laws because of all the shootings happening across Canada. But those are criminals and not law abiding citizens.
They purchase black market hand guns smuggled into Canada from the USA. Canadian Government needs to get tough on gun smugglers and people who are in possession of illegal guns and not legal indigenous subsistence hunters, farmers, hunters, sport shooters that get the required licenses go though the screening and go the legal route.
The limited & narrow view of the public (most of us) has brought and is bringing Canada into a 2-party federal option. A or B is far worst choice than would be an A to D choice in governing parties. All the while and whistling in the dark we take that road. Think and vote alternative, the other two L and C have had their day and things aren’t getting any better. A weak healthcare system, unaffordable housing/cost of living, loss of rights and freedom, a bleaker future for the new generation, wealth inequality/a disappearing middle class are but a few.
I seriously hope we pick the right horse in this race, it will be a shame if Nunavutmiut elect a Liberal MP if the Conservatives end up winning the election and visa versa.
The Liberal candidate has held difficult jobs and produced. She has strong ties to her community of Baker Lake. She has my vote as I want an MP with a governing party. I have no time for the blue man and applaud the current Nunavut MP who has worked hard for our territory.
I will vote for you
Please don’t be like these former MPs that they say they do their work and so many inuit still struggles to get some answers from their voices. Arviat health workers needs to be check with their work and income support and family services same thing lots need to be help and minister of health was saying findings of suicide prevention last year and still many inuit lost their lives.
She has been fortunate in her career over the years, however I am not convinced of her ability. NTI is not in a great place right now and I often wondered about the organization’s leadership as progress is often stunted. Attention to implementation milestones were often ignored or delayed, so implementation always seemed issue-ridden, with absolutely no focus on the success of their programs. The mentality appears to be that the hard work that is needs be done must be done through some outsourced and out-of-touch consultant or to create and staff new positions. If you look at their organization chart note how many people work at NTI and have roles/credentials that overlap with workloads that are minimal. Hmm. Does this reflect some level of incompetence? Since it seems implementation is not her strong suit, how do we expect her to achieve some of her platform items? And where are the articles on the other candidates?? Karen Kabloonak is a Nunatsiaq favorite?
Ii, gun laws cannot be ignored when there are gun related crimes on the rise and a suicide epidemic in our territory, and when stand-offs happen way too often in our communities (these are becoming the norm and are being witnessed and mimicked by our youth)
Give your head a shake. You don’t need a fancy gun to get a tuktu. Goodness.