The year in review in Nunavik: January — March

IQALUIT — The year began with a devastating avalanche at Kangiqsualujjuaq and ended with hope for the future as negotiators signed the Nunavik Accord.

January

— The year begins with a tragedy. A New Year’s Eve celebration in Kangisualujjuaq turns deadly as an avalanche slams into Satuumavik School, killing nine people and burying scores of others in snow. Community members heroically deal with the catastrophe as best they can until relief finally arrives in the early hours of January 1.

— Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard visits Kangiqsualujjuaq, while Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Quebec Liberal leader Jean Charest, federal and provincial government ministers, one member of parliament and two members of the Quebec’s national assembly later arrive in Kuujjuaq to attend funeral services in Kangiqsualujjuaq for the nine people who died in the avalanche.

— More than 700 people attend a bilingual funeral service conducted by Bishop Paul Idlout and Reverend Benjamin Arreak. Despite the presence of many dignitaries and reporters, the funeral is an intensely private and moving occasion.

— Quebec calls a public coroners’ inquest into the disaster and brings in two avalanche experts from Western Canada to evaluate the risks of another snowslide. A special fund is set up to reimburse losses caused by the avalanche.

— Good will, supplies, messages of support and money descend on Kangiqsualujjuaq as people across North America respond to news of the community’s distress. Assistance comes in the form of country foods, dry goods and clothing, magazines, boots and cash donations.

— Officials from the government and school board award a contract worth $2.2 million to the Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec (FCNQ) for a new 20-room classroom school in Kangiqsualujjuaq, with the condition that the school be completed by the beginning of March.

February

— Quebec coroner Jacques Bérubé travels to Kangiqsualujjuaq to discuss the organization of a public inquest into the deaths of the nine people who perished in the New Year’s Eve avalanche.

— An airlift of six dogs out of Kangirsuk to Montreal draws national attention. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Montreal and its international body, the World Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, pay $4000 to bring the dogs out of Kangirsuk by air. The dogs would have been shot as part of the Kangirsuk’s clamp-down on its booming dog population.

— Air Creebec, the airline owned by the James Bay Cree, starts flying from Montreal to Puvirnituq, six days a week, on a three-month experimental basis. Air Creebec promotes use of its new route with huge discounts during its first two weeks of operation in January.

— On February 21, a Kuujjuaraapik woman, Nancy Menarick, 39, who had been drinking at the community’s social club, dies of exposure outside the club when night temperatures drop to -50 degrees. The Sûreté du Québec says that no criminal charges will be laid, but added that the circumstances around Menarick’s death seemed to demonstrate a certain lack of concern on the part of other social club habitués. Many people leaving the Club apparently walked by Menarick, but offered her no help. Some apparently cited a fear of a jealousy on the part of their partners.

— An Akulivik woman is the subject of an exorcism, while her future brother-in-law attempts to cut off his penis, after he urges others to “repent their sins,” too. Following a call to the regional police, the woman is removed from Akulivik on February 25 and transferred to hospital. No criminal charges are laid.

— Kativik Regional Councilors meeting in Kangiqsujuaq are concerned that only 68 Inuit now work at the Raglan mine, a mere 16.5 per cent of the Société minière de Raglan’s 373 employees. The Raglan Agreement, signed three years ago, set no percentage for Inuit employment at the mine, but its signatories agreed to aim for a workforce that would be comprised of at least 20 per cent Inuit. Since then, millions of dollars have been sunk into training programs, but even Nunavimmiut who have managed to complete their training haven’t found work at Raglan.

March

— Puvirnituq’s new $3.7 million 26-room hotel has its grand opening. The hotel, owned and operated by the local co-operative association, features such perks as plush, colour-coordinated furnishings, private phones, televisions and luxurious bathrooms.

— Students in Kangiqsualujjuaq are back in school after a two-month break from academic classes. The community’s students return to school for the first time since the avalanche crashed into the former Satuumavik School on New Year’s Eve, leveling its gym and filling many classrooms with snow. The new grey-clad school building is described as simple, but functional.

— Makivik Corporation’s annual general meeting draws some 100 delegates to Quartaq. With a record return on investments that’s boosted beneficiaries’ equity from $145 million to $157 million, Makivik leaders at the meeting are generally up-beat.

— At the Makivik AGM, many Nunavik residents are honored for their bravery and heroism. Eleven people who had risked their lives to save others received medals, while more than 50 people and groups who had acted courageously in crisis situations received plaques. Nunavik communities also receive recognition for the assistance given to Kangiqsualujjuaq after the avalanche.

— Makivik Corporation’s incumbent second vice-president and treasurer are returned to their positions on Makivik’s executive on March 19. Some 1,748 of 4,616 eligible voters turn out to cast votes. Incumbent vice president Johnny Peters receives 1169 votes, defeating Mark Papigatuk (581 votes). New treasurer Anthony Ittoshat receives 871 votes, defeating Minnie Grey (559 votes) and Bob Deer (309 votes.)

— Salluit’s new rehabilitation centre for troubled youth in Nunavik opens March 30. The multi-million dollar centre has places for 14 young people, aged 14-18.

— Air Creebec decides to pull the plug on its new Montreal-Puvirnituq route and accepts no more reservations for flights after April 10. Despite offering heavy discounts to passengers, Air Creebec hasn’t been able to wrest the lucrative Inuulitsivik Health Centre travel contract from Air Inuit.

— Nurses in Nunavik are fed up with their working conditions, and they say that if they don’t see any concessions from the provincial government, they are prepared to join forces with protesting nurses in other remote regions of Quebec and begin offering only emergency services for one week, beginning March 29. Nurses eventually receive a commitment of cash bonuses from $14,000 to $17,000, and those working at nursing stations are eligible for additional bonuses of up to $7,000.