Rankin MLA defends Iqaluit homeowners against tax sale

It is with some trepidation that I write this letter, because really, one of the MLAs for Iqaluit or all of them should be doing this.

I listened to the radio and heard that some people’s houses are going to be sold out from under them because their taxes are unpaid.

This is to me a matter of great injustice especially for those who are either original Iqalungmiut, or at least, long-time Iqalungmiut. Some of these people originally stepped on these Iqaluit shores long before any of us even knew where Iqaluit was.

Is this what we fought for in the negotiations for our land claims, so newly created bodies like the Iqaluit City Council can make Inuit homeless? I do not think so.

The Government of Nunavut should start acting like a government for the people of Nunavut instead of catering only to Kabloonaq laws and do something for their constituents. My question to the MLAs for Iqaluit would be, where are you and why are you not doing something for these people? Is it because the Inuit who are being evicted are not influential enough for votes in the upcoming territorial election?

You should be defending your constituents, not because it is politically advantageous to you, but because it is the right thing to do.

I feel for the people who must be undergoing a lot of stress and uneasiness as a result of the measures being taken against them.

Jack Anawak
Iqaluit
janawak@assembly.nu.ca