Nunavut MP: Throne speech could help Nunavut housing

SEAN McKIBBON
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — Nunavut MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell says the Liberal government’s speech from the throne will give her plenty of amunition to lobby for Nunavut.

Topping her list for issues will be getting help to address the housing crisis facing Nunavut.

“What the throne speech does is outline the government’s commitments and the road they want to take,” said Lindell.

The speech, which sets out the priorities of the federal government for the coming session of parliament, contains an entire section about aboriginal Canadians.

Lindell said the speech makes a committment to improving living conditions and economies of aboriginal peoples. She also said that the government wants to improve health care for Canadians in general, and the welfare of Canadian children.

All of those goals fit right in with Nunavut’s need for better housing, Karetak-Lindell said.

“We create a lot of social problems and illnesses through lack of housing, with overcrowding,” Lindell said.

She said Nunavut needs to establish a foundation of basic living standards and services before it begin to adress the larger problems of education and economic development. To do that, the territory needs help from the federal government to provide housing.

“If you are cold and hungry, it’s hard to concentrate in school,” she said.

“The government will work with other levels of government and the private sector to reach — by the end of the year 2000 — agreement on a five-year plan for improving physical infrastructure in urban and rural regions across the country,” the speech said.

Karetak-Lindell said she hoped that process could help Nunavut get better infrastructure, and also find more money for housing.

In the throne speech, the federal government committed more money toward social spending and promised tax cuts. Karetak-Lindell was cautious about tax relief, saying that it’s hard for a territory that relies on federal transfer payments to ask for tax cuts.

“We’re trying to reduce taxes for lower income Canadians. We’re trying to find the right ballance,” she said.

There were other pieces of good news to come out of the throne speech, Lindell said.

Promises to increase spending on research initiatives could translate to benefits for research in the Arctic, she said. She also said a federal government commitment to clean up toxic waste from federal sites should also come as good news to northerners.

“Having Northern and aboriginal peoples mentioned so many times in the speech I found very reassuring,” Karetak-Lindell said.

“I feel as aboriginal people we can deal directly with the federal government,” she said. ”

The full text of the speech from the throne is available on the Internet at http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/sft-ddt/doc/fulltext_e.htm