QIA offering food vouchers to elders
Each Inuit elder in the Qikiqtani region eligible for grocery cards totalling $2,000
The Igluvut building in Iqaluit is home to the Qikiqtani Inuit Association’s offices. The association is launching a food voucher program for elders on Dec. 14. (File photo by Jane George)
The Qikiqtani Inuit Association is offering food vouchers to elders for the holidays and into the new year.
The program will provide elders in the Qikiqtani region with eight separate vouchers from Dec. 14 to March 22, according to a news release. Each will be worth $250, for a total of $2,000.
“We know that when we support this type of support to elders that there is often a trickle-down effect,” said William Hopkins, QIA’s acting communications director.
Elders are often supporting other family members, so this program can create intergenerational support, Hopkins said.
Two vouchers will be given out together at the start of the program, so elders will be able to get $500 on Dec. 14.
To be eligible, recipients must be an Inuk living in the Qikiqtani region who is registered with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and be at least 60 years old as of March 22, 2022.
Elders get their voucher as a grocery card that can be picked up at the local Co-op. For Iqaluit elders that pickup is Arctic Ventures and for Clyde River elders that pickup is at the Northern Store.
After Dec. 13, other pickup dates for cards are Jan. 11, Jan. 25, Feb. 8, Feb. 22, March 8 and March 22.
The program comes from funding through the federal government’s Indigenous Communities Support Fund.
Earlier in 2021, the QIA provided a $250 food voucher program in Kinngait as a part of pandemic relief.
The Kivalliq Inuit Association and Kitikmeot Inuit Association were not immediately available for comment on whether they have similar holiday programs being planned.
This is a great idea, the Elders get the vouchers and get food and other things they may need, lets hope the vouchers don’t end up in the wrong hands of a family member and end up being sold for drugs or alcohol.
Merry Christmas to all the elders all over the territory, without our elders , our way ahead in life wouldn’t be so good and no one would have no where to go when things aren’t going ones way. Our elders are doing their best to see us all GROW UP.
So listen to them and spend time with them. We will ,God willingly live longer than them so It is imperative that we all help them out before they leave us for a better world . God bless
Wow! Money from Heaven! But let’s take another look.
The most recent financial statement on the Nunavut Trust website is for 2018. How is it possible that the statements for 2019, 2020 and 2020 are not posted?
Absent recent information, it may be reasonable to guess that the fund holds investments worth some $50,000 for every man, woman and child Inuk and there may be another $20,000 or so in trust for each Eastern Arctic Inuk from Baffinland royalties.
So who benefits from all that money? Basically, it’s dead money. More specifically, it’s a slush fund that supports overpaid bums on seats at NTI pretending to duplicate what GN pretends to be doing for all Inuit. Of course, outsiders have to do all the real professional and managerial work because even after all these years Inuit don’t have the education and skills training to do professional work in their own lands.
And of course, investment managers in southern Canada are allowed to rake in millions each year because no Inuit are even employed in their offices to answer the telephone.
My suggestion is that all the investments should be divided between families and placed held in individual family trusts, like Justin Trudeau’s, with the power to buy housing.
That is exactly what this organization does. Takes, Takes and take more of Its own beneficiaries royalty payments and bitch and complain to the federal government for more handouts so they can get more useless thermometers and maybe a gift card enough for a processed sandwich and a pop . Yup. Kia is raking in more money than all of the rest of the inuit organizations in this Nunavut territory anything else is held for the greys bay road and port project that is also in the middle of nowhere and won’t benefit any of the beneficiaries except for the exploration and mining industries . The NWT will connect the proposed road but it will be in the middle of nowhere for any beneficiaries to even use to go south No road will connect any kitikmeot community that’s for sure
I am interested to apply what’s the message gave me guidelines, who is eligible ? Is this fund we are being given out as $250.00 food vouchers part from this Trust Funds? I like to get more information about this project.
I would like to wish a Merry Christmas to all the elders of Iqaluit, and hopefully the monetary supplement will help to join families together at this special time of year.