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Charest, Pelletier give Nunavimmiut what they want to hear

An independent riding, a new government in four years

ISABELLE DUBOIS
Special to Nunatsiaq News

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Quebec Premier Jean Charest at a dinner held for him in Kuujjuaq last week. (PHOTO BY ISABELLE DUBOIS)

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KUUJJUAQ — During Premier Jean Charest's visit to Nunavik last month, Inuit leaders made sure he was made aware of the region's desire for an electoral riding of its own.

"We are going to examine the issue," Charest promised.

However, while the notion of a separate riding was well received by Charest's predecessor, Bernard Landry, the most recent provincial electoral map still didn't give Nunavik what it's been calling for since the 1960s.

Charest said he would bring up the issue again, as soon as the opportunity arose.

"We do not yet have a native elected in our assembly, which is not normal," he confessed. "If we want aboriginal people to be fully engaged in our province's institutions, if we want to work with them, it is extremely important that we create conditions that will allow them in that assembly."

Charest told Nunavik's leaders that he would feel privileged to witness the election of their first member to the National Assembly.

"That, for me, but also for the province as a whole, would be an accomplishment," Charest said.

Without the help of government officials, Nunavimmiut have very little chance of seeing one of their people elected to the National Assembly.

That's because the population in the rest of the riding far exceeds the population of Nunavik.

Nunavik's sparse population of just over 10,000 voters does not meet the demographic criteria needed for an electoral riding.

The rule says a district must have a voter population of 32,000 to 53,000.

With its 22,593 voters, the vast electoral riding known as Ungava, which encompasses both Nunavik and the James Bay area, is already an exception to this rule.

Nevertheless, it wouldn't be entirely impossible for Nunavimmiut to secure their own riding, as the Magdelan Islands, with just over 10,000 voters, already has a riding of its own.

Nunavik government in four years
Nunavik should also have its own government before the next provincial election, said Benoît Pelletier, Quebec's minister for native affairs.

The newly appointed minister made the statement during his first visit to Kuujjuaq, accompanying Charest to announce the creation of Nunavik's first provincial park.

Pelletier said the creation of Pingualuit Park — the first to be locally managed by a native group — marked a step toward a new regional government in Nunavik.

"Furthering the responsibilities of aboriginal people can only lead toward greater government autonomy," Pelletier said.

This summer, Quebec and Nunavik signed a framework agreement for a new regional government that will merge Nunavik's main institutions into a single body.

"The merging of the institutions will promote a harmonious and more unified development of the region's public services," Pelletier said.

Under the plan, the Kativik Regional Government, along with the region's school board and the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, will become a single body.

Pelletier said the transition should be completed before the end of the Liberal government's first mandate in 2007.

Charest lured Inuit leaders with this prospect of progress when he presented Pita Aatami, president of Makivik Corp., Johnny Adams, chairman of the KRG, with symbolic gifts during a dinner given in his honour.

The pen he gave Aatami, Charest said, is symbolic of the work they'll do together and the agreements they'll one day sign.

As he handed Adams a watch, Charest revealed that there was a reason for that particular gift as well.

"Because time counts, and I want to make a commitment to you, to do these things that we have to do together in a timely fashion," Charest said.

For Pelletier, this traditional exchange of gifts, expressing important messages in a direct, but subtle way, was also a learning experience.

New to his mandate in native affairs, with limited experience in dealings with native peoples, Pelletier was given a crash course on Inuit identity, as Aatami presented him with a drawing of an Inuk man.

"That's an Inuk, not an Innu," said Minnie Grey, a member of the Inuit negotiating team on self-government who was also present at the dinner.

Adams then caught Pelletier off-guard, asking him whether he knew the difference between the two nations - unlike most people living down South who often confuse the two words.

"Not only did we choose to live in municipalities as opposed to reserves, but keep in mind that we are also taxpayers, like most residents of this province," Adams said.

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