Throne speech focuses on wellness, opportunity and accountability
Commissioner Eva Aariak outlines government’s ‘Ikajuqtigiikta’ mandate, which means ‘let’s help each other’
Nunavut Commissioner Eva Aariak shakes hands with Aggu MLA Edward Attagutaluk after addressing the legislative assembly on Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Daron Letts)
Nunavut Commissioner Eva Aariak offered broad promises to improve health and wellness, provide economic opportunities, and committed to government accountability in her speech from the throne Thursday.
Speaking in the legislative assembly on the final day of the legislature’s winter sitting, Aariak unveiled the Nunavut government’s four-year mandate titled Ikajuqtigiikta, which means “let’s help each other.”
The throne speech is a summary of the government’s agenda and is usually delivered by the commissioner at the start of a new legislative sitting.
The mandate, she said, is rooted in four pillars, the first of which is “uplifting families and communities.”
It includes a commitment to modernize and improve Nunavut’s health services, such as mental health and addictions programming.
It also focuses on protecting vulnerable children, expanding early childhood education, and improving food security and crime prevention.
“This is a whole-of-community approach,” Aariak said, shaped by “stability and connection, and that communities themselves must be supported in building solutions that fit local realities.”
The second pillar focuses on economic development through improved job training and post-secondary education for young Nunavummiut, supporting industries such as fisheries, and a commitment to “maximize the benefits that Nunavummiut receive from mining,” Aariak said.
The third pillar broadly commits to co-operating with partners such as Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and “strengthening human resources management across the public service.”
The fourth aims to work for a “brighter future for all Nunavummiut,” including protection of the territory’s environment.
“As the world’s focus on the Arctic increases, Nunavut must ensure that investments strengthen communities, build capacity, and protect what makes our home unique,” Aariak said.
Accountability was another theme of the speech. Aariak said the government’s mandate must be a guide with “clear reporting” on action and progress.
This mandate, she said, “emphasizes collaboration, consultation and consensus, not only as values but as practical necessities.”
“Our government knows that behind every policy and every budget line is a person, a child who needs safety, a parent who needs support, a young person who needs a pathway, a family that needs housing and a community that needs reliable infrastructure,” Aariak concluded.
After the speech, Premier John Main thanked MLAs for their collaboration on the mandate.
“Cabinet is ready to live up to the challenges facing us,” Main said in Inuktitut.
“I believe that all members care deeply for their communities and are ready to face our challenges together.”
Health Minister Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster used her final member’s statement of the winter sitting to pay tribute to Aariak, who is set to retire as commissioner this year, thanking her for showing a path for women in leadership.
“I just want to take a moment to acknowledge how much she has given to Nunavummiut throughout her career, and wish her the best in her retirement,” Brewster said.
It appears we are set for a four-year period with new MLAs and little opportunity for debate.
It is a bit disheartening that the only sector mentioned in the Throne Speech for improved job training was the Fishing industry.
For the part 20 years, the Nunavut Fisheries & Marine Training Consortium has operated a federally funded training facility in Iqaluit. At this point, there must have been hundreds of Nunavummuit trained over this whole generation of training effort.
At the very least in the case of fisheries, Nunavut has actually already cottoned on to the jobs potential in this sector.
We have a training center dedicated in Clyde River to train us how to become old time Inuit. We have a fisheries center mentioned above. All other dedicated training facilities in Nunavut are focused on preparing Nunavummuit for government work. That is it.
If the GN wants to improve job training in Nunavut, I would certainly hope that this just does not mean doubling down or continuing to support employment only in these sectors.
We have no dedicated full time facilities and programs to train people to run and maintain light duty and heavy equipment for any employer that uses vehicles.
For that matter, we have no dedicated full time facilities and program to run and maintain the thousands of small engines we all need for our on-the-land lifestyle.
We have no dedicated full time facilities and programs for mine training.
We have no dedicated full time facilities and programs for emerging careers for Nunavut’s future like building and operating renewable energy infrastructure, electrification, or the ton of defense jobs that will soon be descending on us.
Come on GN. Where is the vision? Why are you solidly stuck in the same worn out training tracks?
They are working so hard now that they don’t want to show how they have been working by government in different departments. See different departments and they just give to different departments and don’t want to help them just like NTI they say talk to workers compensation board. And KIA won’t do things they are supposed to do. Only worked on it there is something about them. And they are trying to give vouchers back to election to NTI and that money must be from Inuit that supposed to get.
We need to take a serious look at student attendance across Nunavut and ask ourselves what kind of future we are preparing for our children.
If we want young people to be ready to lead and run Nunavut in the years ahead, we must ensure they are consistently attending school and receiving the education they deserve. That starts with stronger supports for families—practical, respectful supports that help students arrive at school ready to learn each day.
Right now, we are seeing a growing disconnect. Many students are staying up late and struggling to maintain healthy routines, which impacts their ability to attend and engage in school. Without consistent attendance, it becomes increasingly difficult for students to build the skills needed for graduation, post-secondary opportunities, and meaningful employment.
This is not about blame—it is about responsibility. Education must be part of the conversation at every level, especially when new mandates or priorities are introduced. If we do not prioritize school attendance and student success now, we risk limiting opportunities for the next generation.
Let’s work together—families, schools, communities, and leadership—to create the conditions where students can succeed. Our future depends on it.
Two weeks ago Premier Main was quoted in this newspaper as saying “So the mandate will help to direct us, not just what we’re working on but how we’re getting things done.”
Ikajuqtigiikta is a great idea, but it certainly is not a “How Mandate”.
How are we to “Strengthen and uplift families and communities”?
How are we to “Drive economic growth and employment”?
How are we to “Simplify Operations and enhance partnerships”?
How are we to “Invest in a brighter future for all Nunavummiut”?
There is nothing of substance in this mandate. It has no “how” and it has no metrics for tracking progress.
I predict 4 more years, just like the past 25 years, except greater dispair. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think I will be.
Yeah, strategic priorities like this at all levels of government is a useless exercise. Pretty much anything can be explained in a way to fit under one or all of the umbrellas. Mostly just back-patting theatre.