Trudeau and Akeeagok talk collaboration
PM, new premier look to co-operation on reconciliation, housing, mental health, PMO says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok Monday about areas where the two government leaders can collaborate, including reconciliation, housing and mental health, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. (File photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talked on Monday about ways the two government leaders can work together on issues including housing, infrastructure, and mental health needs, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
It was one of several items on the agenda for the meeting of the two leaders, who both won elections since September. Trudeau congratulated Akeeagok on his election as the territory’s premier nearly two weeks ago.
Akeeagok, a former president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association who ran for MLA in October, was picked by his fellow members of the legislative assembly to be premier on Nov. 17.
Trudeau’s Liberal party formed the government in Ottawa after winning the most number of seats in September’s federal election.
Trudeau and Akeeagok talked on Monday about improving access to affordable early learning and child care for families in Nunavut. Nunavut is one of four Canadian jurisdictions that has not yet secured a deal with the federal government for federally subsidized $10-a-day day care positions, the PMO reported.
Akeeagok conveyed “his pride” in Gov. Gen. Mary Simon’s delivery of the throne speech last week, a statement issued by the PMO after their discussion said. The throne speech was an outline of the Trudeau government’s legislative agenda for the next parliamentary session. Simon, an Inuk from Nunavik, delivered part of the speech in Inuktitut.
Remember…Actions speak louder than words.
Do PJ and his Cabinet have the spine required to do what previous GN leaderships have not done: get publicly aggressive in demanding significantly increased federal government support for the construction and operating costs of a great many new social housing units? Without far more new housing than Trudeau has so far committed to, Nunavut will be crippled for the foreseeable future.
The stalemate is over financing the living conditions of inhabitants of northern Canada that are five, six times higher than that of southern Canada. Imagine building a two bedroom duplex dwelling: you first have to buy the material, ship it on a boat to a faraway destination, hire southern contractors to build it which would cost four five times more than would be down south, operating costs of the dwelling would be higher cos of higher oil and electricity costs, etc. And there are other infrastructures to finance. And the taxes we pay them probably don’t top 10% of what the government pay to keep us out in the cold.
Maybe somebody at Nunatsiaq, or cbc or ctv, could show how many dollars are carried forward every year by nhc? Public knowledge thanks to Arreak-lightstone;
Doesn’t make sense to ask for more until you actually spend the 100 million, 73 million, 120 million (a snap shot of the annual carried forward amounts overlapping harper and Trudeau years)
The costs…. The cost of construction workers that come from southern Canada far exceeds the cost of everything put together
Their are skilled workers in every -EVERY nunavut town village whatever they want to call it.
Nunavut is the most expensive territory in the whole wide world and every Canadian cease to know that. Construction companies are making millions of dollars on our own backs. Should be all local community hires A duplex shouldn’t cost over $$$$$5million dollars and that’s going price for the southern contractors to build a two unit building. Each unit no bigger that a large cabin. Down south in the provinces the same exact building cost less than half of $$$$5 million bucks
Nunavut is in a position to go broke forever. Should’ve stayed truly northern and stayed NWT. None of this none of it bs .
Does your community have skilled architects, civil engineers, electrical engineers, master plumbers, skilled contractors, painters/drywallers, masonists/roofers, carpenters, interior designers? If the answer to this is no, then your community is not ready to take on construction projects. If the answer is yes, then they should get together, form a company, and bid on construction projects, the same way southern firms do. And believe me, the local firm will get the project 10 times out of 10 vs the southern hires if they can prove they’re qualified for the job.
The root cause of the housing crisis is the number of kids being born to teens. If kids would finish school, go to college, learn a skill and come back and contribute to Nunavut instead of sitting around waiting for your name to be called on the housing waitlist, Nunavut would be one hell of a different place.
It would make more sense for NHC to have the houses prefabricated down south and shipped up north, this would cut cost ten fold, but it might make too much sense for the government and construction companies up north would lose too much money instead of building more homes for a fraction of the price.
Other options are available but we continue doing the same things and just ask for more money. Take a look at one of the major construction companies in Nunavut, they make so much money they can have their own airplanes to fly in and out of the communities with their southern crew. Just doesn’t make sense to continue doing business like this.
The Feds already transfer $1.84 Billion to the Territorial Government annually. That amounts to $46,000 for every man, woman and child in the territory per year, How about the Territorial government do a better job of managing the funding that the Feds provide rather than continually standing there with their hand out demanding even more money?
Atta boy PJ! Not surprised by this, you work hard, constant, strategic, looking for ways so I’m not surprised.
Keep it up and show all these naysayers and armchair politicians how it’s done,
Remember fall of 2018? Nunavik had a huge crisis of suicide in the region. He said he would help but he long forgot about that. I find that Justin just says what people want to hear and actually has no clue of how to have the work done up.
Well said about PJ,what do you have to say about that so called Prime Minister of Canada.