Renamed ITK turns 30 with a party

OTTAWA — Putting politics — and the clock — to one side made it a lot easier to enjoy the recent 30th birthday mega-bash the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada held last week in Ottawa.

But after the music finally ended and everyone had finished off the food and drink, this event was to supposed live on in official collective memory as the kick-off to ITC’s new identity as the Inuit Tapiriiksat Kanatami.

The day after the party, at a news conference at the National Press Club, ITK president Jose Kusugak suggested the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs could make a positive gesture by considering a name change, too.

To reflect its obligations to Inuit, Kusugak suggested the federal government change the department’s name to something like the federal department of Indian and Inuit affairs.

“Just as we changed our name to rededicate ourselves to Canada, a similar move by the department would send a powerful signal that the government is serious about building a closer relationship with our people,” Kusugak said.

Another way to show Ottawa cares would be to give Inuit more money to improve programs and services, said Kusugak, plugging ITK’s call for a core funding agreement with Ottawa.

“We want to be self-reliant and participate fully and equally in all aspects of Canadian society,” Kusugak said. “Our dream is that, one day, Inuit will no longer stand out in national statistics for having the poorest quality of life in Canada.”

ITK represents more than 40,000 Inuit in Labrador, Nunavik Quebec, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories.