Why punish Cambridge Bay?

The people of Cambridge Bay have good reason to be angry at Nunavut’s MLAs this week.

Unlike many other Nunavut communities, Cambridge Bay enjoys strong, creative community leadership. When faced with the problem of how to replace what was lost in the fire that destroyed Kilinik High School in the summer of 1998, Cambridge Bay residents displayed a rare degree of initiative.

The proposed project in Cambridge Bay is for more than just a replacement community school. It’s also for a replacement cultural centre, which should be regarded as a regional, not a local facility.

The Kitikmeot Heritage Society, a regional body based in Cambridge, would likely use a new cultural centre for displays of archaeological materials found in the region. Unlike the moribund cultural institutes in the Baffin and Kivalliq regions, the Kitikmeot’s cultural organization actually does real work. They’ve just helped published a book, and they are also involved in an important series of archeaological digs near Cambridge.

To find part of the money needed to replace their valued cultural centre, Cambridge Bay residents agreed to do their own fund-raising. Isn’t this an example of the kind of “self-sufficiency” that Nunavut’s leaders claim to be in favour of?

Instead of punishing the people of Cambridge Bay and the Kitikmeot for showing energy and commitment, Nunavut’s MLAs should reward them. The budget line items for CambridgeBay’s high school ought to be approved. JB