Nunavut MLAs get back to work this week

DWANE WILKIN
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — Nunavut Commissioner Helen Maksagak gave her blessing to bold law reform, affirmative action and government protection for Inuit culture as she opened the first full session of the Nunavut Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

“It is quite clear that if Inuit are to succeed in preserving their own cultural identity they should not just adopt western ideas and values,” Maksagak said, “but transform them so they make sense to their own society and culture.”

In a throne speech delivered in English and halting Inuktitut from an old red leather armchair at the Anglican Parish Hall, Maksagak urged lawmakers to keep Inuit culture foremost in their minds as they begin to tackle the business of governing Canada’s largest territory.

“With the wisdom and counsel of the people and the members of this assembly, our government is convinced the future of Nunavut is bright and prosperous.”

Caucus retreat in Baker Lake

Nunavut MLAs are preparing for a retreat next month in Baker Lake to establish the Nunavut government’s legislative priorities.

To build true consensus in government, Maksagak said, Nunavut’s cabinet ministers will commit to working closely with ordinary members, and with a variety of non-governmental organizations and individuals.

To that end, Maksagak said that the role of the Ajauqtit standing committee of the legislature and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. will be paramount in ensuring that government lives up to the spirit and intent of the Nunavut land claims agreement.

“This government respects the opinions of all members of this assembly,” Maksagak said, “and looks forward to receiving feedback and support from them as we move forward.”

The session opened with a prayer and the singing of Canada’s national anthem in Inuktitut, led by a small children’s choir.

Youthful pages, dressed in ceremonial atigiit — anoraks — flanked the speaker’s chair in the makeshift assembly hall, adorned by a large and colourful tapestry from Pangnirtung.

Deputy ministers, government staff, elders and a few members of the general public observed the proceedings from a visitor’s gallery consisting of a phalanx of chairs brought in for the occasion.

Single Nunavut time zone

Maksagak made several commitments to Nunavut residents on behalf of the government, including a promise to establish a single time zone throughout the territory.

She also hinted that the Nunavut government will seek from Ottawa full control of the royalties that flow from future development of natural resources in the territory.

“Nunavut has a unique economy. We are committed to building on the strength of that uniqueness so that all Nunavutmiut can participate fully in the economic development opportunities that are available to us,” she said.

In order to ensure fulfilment the Inuit employment goals contained in Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, Maksagak said the Nunavut government is committed to achieving 50 per cent Inuit employment in the public service by the end of the curent fiscal year.

The Nunavut government intends to review the current business incentive policy to bring it into line with Article 24 of the Nunavut land claim agreement, and has already instituted an interim pro-Nunavut procurement policy, Maksagak said.

One of the main goals of the Nunavut government, she added, will be to achieve a greater level of economic self-reliance in the coming years.

Maksagak saluted partnerships between the private and public sectors, and reaffirmed the Nunavut government’s commitment to decentralization of government jobs and services in the territory.

“Our goal is to become more self-reliant, a concept well known in the the Inuit way of life,” she said.

Finance Minister Kelvin Ng will bring down his first budget on Friday morning, at a session due to start at 10:00 a.m.