Three face off to become Makivik’s VP of economic development

On Thursday, Jan. 17, Nunavik Inuit will vote to fill two executive positions at Makivik Corp: the organization’s vice-president of economic development, as well as its corporate secretary, each of which has a three-year term.

The three candidates running for the vice-president role, Sammy Kudluk, Maggie Emudluk and incumbent Andy Moorhouse, each responded to questions sent by Nunatsiaq News, as outlined below.

Sammy Kudluk is originally from Kangirsuk but has lived in Kuujjuaq since 1997. First and foremost, Kudluk calls himself an artist.

Kudluk is the chair of the Inuit Art Foundation and worked for years with Makivik Corp. as an illustrator and reporter for its monthly magazine. He used to coordinate Makivik’s regional art workshops, which were offered annually until 2015.

Where will you focus your efforts, if elected?

Kudluk said his first priority, if elected, would be to bring back those annual art workshops as a way to help support and grow Nunavik’s art industry and its artists.

“To bring economic development to the beneficiaries on a local level,” Kudluk said. “[T]o bring more tools and opportunities for Inuit who [don’t] have qualifications to find work because of cultural differences in our society.

Why should Nunavimmiut vote for you?

Kudluk said recent changes to Makivik’s approach to economic development are important, but he feels they don’t go far enough to address poverty in Nunavik communities.

“The reason is all of the above and more, to benefit from our land claim corporation as [we are] supposed to do,” he said.

Maggie Emudluk has a lengthy resume in Nunavik politics, but this is her first run for an executive position at Makivik Corp.

Emudluk has been involved in municipal and regional politics in her home community of Kangiqsualujjuaq since the mid-1980s. She was elected to the Kativik Regional Government executive and served as its chairperson from 2006 until 2015.

“All these years gave me a practical understanding and an opportunity to clearly understand the overall picture of our communities and our region,” Emudluk said. “I have a very good knowledge of how governments work and I have demonstrated my capacity to work with all elected Nunavik officials.

“I believe that social and economic development go hand in hand if you want to see improvement,” she added. “[But] it’s a big challenge for our region to create economical activities and create employment. We’re not in a competitive platform.”

Where will you focus your efforts, if elected?

Emudluk said she hopes to see and participate in the creation of a Nunavik strategic socio-economic plan, to help identify Nunavik’s potential business investment opportunities.

“I was surprised to see that no such critical guiding tool for Nunavik’s economic development vision has been produced,” she said. “Communities themselves need to define and develop their own vision of economic development.”

Nunavik’s cost-of-living file and the regional subsidy should be priorities and dealt with seriously without further delay, Emudluk said.

While she was chair of the KRG, the organization conducted an in-depth study of residents’ spending habits, which found that Nunavimmiut pay 48 per cent more for store-bought food than do residents of southern Quebec. Negotiations with the Quebec government towards a revised subsidy for the region have been ongoing ever since.

Emudluk also hopes to promote Inuit employment in the region through adult education and training programs, the development of tourism and the region’s mining industry.

Why should Nunavimmiut vote for you?

A three-year break from regional politics gave Emudluk a chance to see the region from a local perspective, she said. “I believe I can bring in fresh perspective, determination and the will to move forward on behalf of Makivik,” she said.

She also pointed to an “inequity” at Makivik, where the organization has had an all-male executive for many years. “We women have to be involved,” she said.

Andy Moorhouse is running for a second term as Makivik’s vice-president of economic development.

Over the last three years, Moorhouse said he grew the department in both its number of staff and active files.

Moorhouse said he was able to do that by securing over $5.8 million dollars in external funding, money that has been used to develop and deliver programs throughout the region.

“It means we’re able to maintain a stable budget throughout the years but committed to doing more for the region,” said Moorhouse, who hails from Inukjuak.

Where will you focus your efforts if re-elected?

Economic growth in the region is limited, Moorhouse said, acknowledging his department’s role in helping to find new ways of stimulating Nunavik’s economy.

He said he’s done that, in part, with new initiatives that target youth and women entrepreneurship in the region, as well as Nunavik’s new chamber of commerce.

“The region still suffers from high unemployment rates and the lowest number of small- and medium- sized businesses when compared to the rest of Canada.” Moorhouse said.

“This fact alone has driven us to develop these new programs with the ultimate goal of increasing local businesses in the communities that contribute to the local economy and contribute to employing community members.”

If he’s elected to another term as vice-president, Moorhouse said he’ll be looking to further develop Nunavik’s established sectors like mining, tourism and fisheries.

Moorhouse also hopes to launch a biannual economic summit in Nunavik, which would gather the region’s communities together to set their own goals.

Why should Nunavimmiut vote for you again?

Moorhouse said he’s equally dedicated to social issues that affect the region: suicide prevention, youth protection and the wellness of elders—all of which contribute to the overall prosperity of the region, he said.

“I have a tremendous passion for economic development for the Nunavik region,” Moorhouse said.

“We have so much more to accomplish in the next few years and I am really satisfied with the work we have done this past term.”

Four vie for corporate secretary role

On Jan. 17, Nunavik Inuit will also vote for Makivik’s corporate secretary.

Incumbent corporate secretary Adamie Padlayat is also running for re-election, along with three other candidates: Rita Novalinga (Puvirnituq), George Peters (Kuujjuaq) and George Pilurtuut (Kangiqsujuaq).

But none of the candidates responded to Nunatsiaq News’ interview requests before our publication deadline.

On election day, Jan. 17, polls will be open in each community’s municipal office, as well as at Makivik’s Montreal office, from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m.