Teachers get used to hotel life

One month into the school year, seven new teachers in Iqaluit are still living out of suitcases.

And even when they get settled into their hotel rooms at the Frobisher Inn or the Capital Suites, they might still have to pack up and move out overnight into the residence at Nunavut Arctic College when other hotel guests who’ve booked months in advance appear to take over the teachers’ temporary homes.

One teacher who was previously living in a tent in Rankin Inlet is now in a hotel at government expense, but that remains an imperfect situation.

After four weeks of school, many teachers have plenty of homework of their own to do — preparing lesson plans, marking tests and writing report cards. All of that is difficult to do without a place to call home.

“We are making sure they have a roof over their head,” said Jimmy Jacquard, president of the Federation of Nunavut Teachers. “If there’s nothing, there’s nothing.”