September
26, 2003
Thank you from Annie Kopalie
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PHOTO)
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I wish to thank the family and the community for their loving support on and
after June 28, 2003, when my son Pauloosie died.
Special thanks to Ron MacLean and the Anglican church, Sara Phillips, Romaine
Stevenson, the family members who served as pall bearers, the organist, Mike
Simpson, Bryan Pearson, Erika Chemko, Todd Walsh, Jimmy Akavak, Brent Buckler,
Tobi, Pitseolak Nowdlak and Jera Potts.
Thank you to Janet Onalik, our sister, who came in from Rankin Inlet, and a
special thank you to Mary Potts who supported me from day one with my son, Pauloosie.
A particular thanks to Qimaavik and young offenders, who brought food for the
reception.
All gestures of support, food and flowers were truly appreciated.
Annie Kopalie
Iqaluit
September
26, 2003
Trip to mother's grave a healing experience
To all of my relatives in and around Nunavut: I would like to let everyone
know that my mother, Mary Pudlat, my aunt, Tye Sagiaktuk, and my brother, their
translator, Tapa Pudlat, travelled to Hamilton, Ont., to see their mother's
grave.
She went for TB treatment and never came back. I heard it's a beautiful site
with hundreds of other graves of people from around here. My grandmother is
not alone there.
My mother brought a small stone with her. This stone was from all the family
members who couldn't go down with them. She left it on the grave.
I often wonder how the family managed to get through it when their mother didn't
return. The death of a parent is the loss of the past, and as difficult as it
was, it will be nice to walk around the area, to see for themselves where their
mother is buried.
It is the most difficult time for a family, but it is a healing process. I
know there is a resurrection, and my feelings about religion have changed since
I started reading the Bible:
"Now Thomas, called the twin, one of the four said to him, we have seen
the Lord. So he said to them, unless I see in his hands the print of the nails,
and put my fingers into the print of the nails, and put my hands into his side,
I will not believe." John 20-25, New King James Version.
I hope they will do well and have a safe trip down there and back.
Mikidjuk Utye
Iqaluit
September
26, 2003
Thank you to the community of Iqaluit
Once more the community of Iqaluit has responded wholeheartedly to an opportunity
for two of its youth to travel in connection with their area of special interest.
Seepoola Inuaraq, 13, and Ooleepeeka Ipeelie, 13, have participated in the
Arctic Youth Art Initiative for two years. Their proven talent in painting Arctic
scenes in watercolour made them candidates for an invitation from the Glenbow
Museum in Calgary to participate in its Discovery Room program in connection
with a major Inuit art exhibition held over the Labour Day weekend.
They had the added pleasure of trying out new art forms at tables adjacent
to the one where they were painting. Two large posters of their earlier paintings
were prominently displayed and much admired by visitors.
Thanks to the generous support offered by First Air, the Legion Women's Auxiliary,
the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, the Marriot Hotel in downtown Calgary, along
with several individuals in Iqaluit, the girls and their escort were able to
accept the invitation and have an event-filled week in Calgary. The chairman
of Glenbow's board of directors came to witness the girls' painting and escorted
them with another friend to the Calgary Zoo to enjoy the tropical birds and
exotic animals.
Earlier funding from the department of culture, language, elders and youth,
as well as from the crime prevention department in Yellowknife, has permitted
the Arctic Youth Art Initiative to expand rapidly, with painting workshops held
during the past year in Clyde River and Pangnirtung, as well as Joamie School
and Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit.
From June through late August, groups of children, five to 12 years of age,
have enjoyed painting almost daily at House 112, the Baha'i Centre, where special
materials, paint and snacks are always available.
The project will continue on an after-school basis, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
mornings.
Again, my thanks to the community of Iqaluit for making the Calgary trip possible
for Ooleepeeka and Seepoola.
Beth McKenty
Iqaluit
September
26, 2003
Recreation leaders program is great
I would like to recognize the Recreation Leaders Program students in Inuvik.
Most of us are from all three territories within Canada. Most of us are in
the second year of the recreation leaders program and we have three more new
students in the first year of the RLP program.
This is a two-year nationally accredited diploma program. We have all sorts
of courses to complete and I believe that this program is a great field to get
in to.
Paul Puqiqnak
Gjoa Haven
September
26, 2003
NYAP a great experience
I was chosen for the Nunavut Youth Abroad Program last year, 2001 to 2002.
When I went to this NYAP program, I went to Newfoundland with Charlotte, who
also went to NYAP. She was my buddy.
What we did was, we participated in learning how to give a tour and help out
with cleaning up. We had a great experience making new friends and went to new
places where we have never been to. Everything was new to me.
For the first time, I was away from my community for six weeks. I have learned
to be away from my family too. Now I am away from them. I'm living in Ottawa
now.
I want to thank the Nunavut Youth Abroad program for accepting me into this
great experience. I would like to also encourage the youth in Nunavut to apply
to get into this program. It's a great experience. Have fun while you are in
it.
Mialia Tikkivik
Iqaluit
September
26, 2003
Iqaluit Rotarians celebrate 25th anniversary
Congratulations Iqaluit Rotarians on your 25th anniversary, Sept. 26, 2003.
I am proud to have been your charter president in 1978, and even more proud
that your members continue to lend a hand to the Iqaluit community. Your continued
desire to make life better for the elders and the youth of Iqaluit through your
annual Elders Dinner, Christmas Baskets, Crisis Line support, Scouts and Guides
sponsorship, Project DARE, and the Start-Right, Stay-Right program all show
clearly your concern for families, an area dear to the heart of current Rotary
International president Jonathan Majiyagbe.
Many Iqaluit families have benefited through your hundreds of hours of fundraising.
To that end, I also congratulate your community for their never-ending support.
The Rotary Club of Iqaluit is known for its ability to raise more funds, per
capita, than most other clubs in Canada and the United States This is no small
feat and shows that the Rotarians are hard at work with community support to
enable them to provide "Service Above Self," which Rotary demands
of its members.
I encourage you to keep the family of Rotary alive and look forward to hearing
more about your plans for the 100th anniversary of Rotary International.
Peter Stuempel
Past President, Rotary Club of Iqaluit
Past President, Rotary Club of Bridgewater
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
September 19, 2003
Nunavut was better off under the NWT government
We should speak out with her about homelessness in Nunavut.
I believe we were better off with the old NWT government, when everything was
accessible to everyone in the territory. After Nunavut we are now in hardship.
They, NTI, promised those 16 and up that if they supported NTI, all families
would have a better life and would get machines, like snowmobiles, Hondas, boats
and motors. Today, a lot of the beneficiaries don't qualify for this.
Crime and suicides have jumped. My point is about homelessness in Nunavut.
Gjoa Haven for, example, has a few vacant public housing units, waiting for
the Housing Corp. to tender these units for repair.
Well these units sit empty, when there are 44 families on the waiting list
for social housing. It's time for our local leaders, including the cabinet ministers,
to wake up. Elections are only five months away.
It's time for the Housing Corp. or the hamlets to repair these units. The regional
Housing Corp. won't help us. We have to do these little things on our own. It's
not only housing, there is health, education, jobs. It's time to speak out.
David Angutingnusaq Porter
Gjoa Haven
September 19, 2003
City of Iqaluit drivers should be tested for drug use
The City of Iqaluit's drivers should be tested for drugs every day before they
drive the big trucks.
Margaret Jeffrey was my cousin and I'm sorry she had to leave her three kids
and a granddaughter.
I sometimes wonder if the city drivers are high on something when they work.
That is why we need sidewalks in Iqaluit.
Name withheld by request
Iqaluit
September 19, 2003
City should charge road improvement fee
Well, the day arrived for us ratepayers to say yes or no to the City of Iqaluit
borrowing $4 million.
I think the proper way to collect the money needed to fix the roads should
come from the people who use the roads.
We, the driving public of Iqaluit, should pay a road improvement fee upon registration
of our vehicles.
This way the people who benefit are the people who pay.
Corinne Attagutsiak
Iqaluit
September 19, 2003
First Air - proudly owned by Inuit?
I am Inuk and to be very honest I'm not proud of our airline.
I have finally decided to write this letter after many months of reading about
how First Air is the best at transporting goods and cargo in the North.
I agree, but only because it's the only airline that comes up to Kuujjuaq.
I find that a lot of the time they do not prioritize the goods that are more
important than others.
For example, I've been to our local grocery store to get milk and bread and
there would not be any for one or two days because the airline company did not
put it on the flight expected.
Second, pharmaceuticals: I've heard that a lot of the time their orders come
in three or four days late, even 10 days late, because First Air cargo in Montreal
did not have room to put the crate in because the crate was too big.
I mean, come on. It's medication, it's as important as food! There are many
people, even elders who rely on medication these days.
Right now, here in Kuujjuaq, there is an epidemic of head lice and we have
no more medication for lice in the pharmacy because apparently the order was
not put in the plane the day it was supposed to be sent and now head lice are
going from child to child at school.
These are important issues that many seem to ignore, and they act as if First
Air is an angel to the North. Not to me, not at all.
I mean, look, how foolish is it to pay for airline tickets and have to ask
for a loan to borrow money from the bank? I know some families who do that,
and pay $5,000 or more to go on vacation in Montreal and that's not including
the expenses you have to make during your vacation.
That's something I cannot come to understand. They say it's 100 per cent Inuit
owned. Okay, good.
But look at how expensive it is for Inuit to get out of town for a while. Hoping
that this letter will help make a little change or be the first of many in the
future.
(Name withheld by request)
Kuujjuaq
September 19, 2003
Should city drivers be tested for drugs and alcohol?
If Iqaluit had sidewalks, people would not be getting run over by cars and
trucks.
As an avid walker, I am now scared to walk near the road, but I find people
don't want to walk on sand or rocks. We need sidewalks!
And City of Iqaluit drivers should be tested for drugs and alcohol on the days
they work. What if they are hung over from the night before and are not able
to concentrate very well? Then innocent lives are taken.
I am not blaming only City of Iqaluit drivers, its all the drivers. What if
they had a toke before they went to work?
They might be so high that they tend to forget the safety of pedestrians. What
is the need for speed? Not my life or others. See us and hear us.
(Name withheld by request)
Iqaluit
September 19, 2003
Alice Joamie wants help building qarmaq
I'm Alice Joamie and I would like to build a qarmaq near my house. I would
like to use it for sewing and make it a home. I would like to relax in it and
use it for Inuktitut sewing.
Although I need help to get wood, insulation and used canvas, I am unable to
pick them up, but you are welcome to talk to me about it. I have to build the
qarmaq before winter.
My phone number is 979-4505 and my house number is 3079.
Alicie Joamie
Iqaluit
September 19, 2003
City of Iqaluit using unsafe methods, unsafe drivers?
I was shocked to hear that yet another good Iqaluit citizen has been killed
because safety was not made a priority.
The city's lack of knowledge concerning not only the paving of the roads, but
also their lack of knowledge on how to best maintain them, has brought heavy
equipment into the lives of innocent bystanders who should never be exposed
to these dangerous situations.
The most recent loader accident involved doing the same thing - trying to fill
potholes. The job is best done by a grader, and even that's not yet the best
solution.
The ground is best prepared after grading by wetting the surface with a water
truck spray and then using a step-drum vibrator packer to anchor the dirt into
the hole itself, so that the dirt is not spun out by vehicles trying to gain
traction on an already over-taxed roadbed surface.
The idea that the city of Iqaluit would rather use blood to fill potholes is
shocking and mortifying. Margaret Jeffrey deserved more than a back-up alarm,
which is well-known to fail in our climate conditions. They are continuously
in need of maintenance due to poor grounding caused by dirt and water. The front-end
loader is built to push, lift and load aggregate, not resurface the road, which
is supposed to have a curved crown to prevent pot-holes and encourage water
runoff.
There are the usual questions of licensed operators with a certificate to operate
a loader, grader or even an excavator, and a course has been running at Aurora
College in Fort Smith for 15 years. Operators from all over the Nunavut and
the NWT are required to take the course for licensing. It's not just a third-class
trucker's license.
Every vehicle poses unique dangers, dead-sight zones, where the operator cannot
see, braking and proper signaling before movement. In this case, a spotter was
required, a must, and not a question of cost to the taxpayers.
The footprint of a large piece of equipment is not for the narrow hilly roads
of Iqaluit. When backing up, the horn should be sounded for all city vehicles
first and not just rely on a beeper.
Large tires roll quicker than a car's, with faster momentum and proper maintenance
of brakes is a must.
I am sad to report that, to date, the entire apprenticeship council and the
Government of Nunavut have failed to address my past letters as to why they
don't require all automotive and heavy equipment mechanics to have either a
Nunavut or Canadian interprovincal license, as is the case here in Alberta,
to work on vehicles to which not only our children are exposed, but also our
adults.
The mechanics can be anyone. Quebec doesn't even have a license recognized
in the rest of Canada. The times of day when heavy vehicles are used should
also not be the peak periods of the day, 3 p.m. when the operator is getting
tired. The public is tired also and children are out of school rushing to get
home.
We will see more accidents if something isn't done. We see the kids run across
the roads every day.
In conclusion, we are not likely to see all equipment towed to the job-site
as in the South, so the city should close off areas of risk and educate the
young early about such vehicles in school and not sit around drinking coffee
or waiting for retirement.
Indeed we haven't heard the end of this story. Are you the next victim?
John Bray
Calgary
September 19, 2003
Museum thankful for recovered carving
This carving by the late Ilkok Oopakak stolen a few weeks ago and was in the
process of being re-carved when it was recovered by police. (PHOTO BY PATRICIA
D'SOUZA)
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Thank you to Nunatsiaq News, Iqaluit radio stations, and members of the community
for your help in spreading word of the recent theft of a carving from the museum's
collection.
The stolen stone bear was recovered, but sadly, not before extensive damage
was done to the sculpture. The thief was in the process of re-carving the bear
to make it unrecognizable from its original form.
The person responsible has been identified by police.
The large polar bear carving, made by the late Ilkok Oopakak in Iqaluit in
1968, had been on permanent display since the museum's opening in 1985.
Brian Lunger
Manager/Curator
Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum
Iqaluit
September
12, 2003
Iqaluit ratepayers pay unfairly for all residents
Regarding the Sept. 11 ratepayers' referendum vote, if I understand it correctly,
as a minority of the population, I will have to pay for the rest of Iqaluit,
the majority of the population.
My tax increase of $228 a year to fund the infrastructure program, whether
necessary or not, is enough to buy a month's worth of fuel or power in the winter.
That is too much for me.
The Government of Nunavut is also generously offering to provide millions of
dollars for this program. I wonder if their constituents in Grise Fiord or Sanikiluaq
or other communities want these dollars spent in Iqaluit?
While improvements may have to be made, the ratepayers should not have to bear
this expense.
In the city's new business alliance with Labrador, it should seek advice from
Hopedale or Makkovik on water and sewage systems
— some people barely have a pot to pee in.
(Name withheld by request)
Iqaluit
September
12, 2003
Congratulations to Joshua Kadlutsiak
I was watching APTN here in Victoria, and I saw that Joshua Kadlutsiak has
retired.
I would like to say congratulations. I worked with Joshua in Igloolik from
1969 to 1971. I was a mechanic, along with Hienze Bartelsi.
I wish Joshua a happy retirement, and all the very best to him and his family
Tom Kelly
Victoria
September
12, 2003
Iqaluit a circus for everyone to laugh at?
Iqaluit is being turned into a three-ringed circus.
A major paving job in Iqaluit has been brought to a screeching halt because
the new engineer doesn't think the pavement "looks right."
Unless this project continues immediately, we will be stuck with gravel roads,
full of ruts and holes, until next summer. The construction season is too short
of nonsense. This is what construction hold-backs and guarantees are for. Get
on with the paving and stop wasting time, taxpayer's money and energy.
Ratepayers are asked to grant their permission for council to borrow money
when:
- Council has turned down viable building projects that would generate the
necessary revenue naturally.
- Invoicing for utilidor water services are nine months behind.
- A municipal election is just a few weeks away.
Council has wasted time and energy discussing "walking trails" (which
no one would use), rather than sensible, straight-to-the-destination sidewalks.
This is a city, not some tourist mountain resort. If proper sidewalks were in
place, walking would be much safer for pedestrians.
Council turned down the most natural suggestion for the "high-noon"
traffic congestion problem. The suggestion
— stagger lunch hours! The cost for the consultant to complete the
study and make recommendations was another example of wasting taxpayer's money,
since nothing the consultant recommended was accepted or implemented.
It's time for all taxpayers to demand that our municipal government act responsibly
and become good stewards of that which has been entrusted to them and stop turning
this city into a circus for the rest of the country to laugh at.
Theresa Rodrigue
Iqaluit
September
12, 2003
Education system produces
addicts and drunks
I just wanted to make a couple of comments on the editorial on education, published
Aug. 29.
I think I know where you're coming from. Self-determination, empowerment, knowledge
economy; these are hollow, empty packages for equally illusive concepts of political
and economic self-sufficiency. The "fifth column" (or was it the market
place?) is a dangerous, vicious animal that has been stirring and threatening
to wake up since the industrial age began. And the school system is the answer.
Though its beginnings are spread out over space and time, the development of
universal schooling as we know it today can be traced back from Bismarck's Germany
to the modern day United States. Universal schooling was never intended to produce
self-sufficient, empowered individuals. It was to train and develop non-thinking,
unquestioning fodder for the engines of industry and war (consumers of prepackaged
illusions and dreams).
This is Plato's Republic writ large for it also uses very subtle and not-so-subtle
filters to process the division of labour and classes through a system of social,
political and economic rewards and punishments, and more specifically, through
rights and privileges. To be considered for any position, one needs the "right"
pedigree, education, and position. Harvard, military colleges, political office
and the attendant privileges; one needs connections and family history to be
taken seriously.
A dinky little jurisdiction like Nunavut? You've got to be kidding! The wandering
wraiths, addicts and drunks (Inuit mostly) that you see around town didn't just
come about out of the blue
— they were produced by the education system.
How and what makes one reflexively think that it's the fault of the marginalized
individual, and not the system, when we see these people, reflects our uncritical
acceptance of the teats of the beast.
Jay Arnakak
Iqaluit
September 5, 2003
Ammituq MLA Enoki
Irqittuq has done "nothing" for Igloolik
Let me in the outset of
these remarks make it perfectly clear that this letter is not intended to harm
or belittle the Ammittuq MLA personally — rather it's his lack of action
that is of concern.
And I am sure that as the
mature gentleman that he is, he expected some criticism from his constituency
for lack of representation — if it ever comes to that.
Furthermore, I am sure
that he is not in the house for popularity gains, and is perfectly aware that
he is bound to get criticized for inaction.
Having made that clear,
I think, to an extent, I couldn't be very far from being wrong to suggest that
the community of Igloolik has received very little help from our current member
of the Legislative Assembly.
And frankly, I along with
my fellow community members in Igloolik, had never experienced anything like
this before. It had always been that previous MLAs took their elected official
status very seriously, and did so with constituency visits and meetings.
With this current MLA,
constituency meetings or visits do not exist. Mind you, every so often, we see
or hear that our MLA was seen at the airport passing through — that's the
extent of his constituency visits.
I suppose we could say
that he is just learning the trade of being a people's representative, with
the Nunavut government being so new.
But heck, he has been an
MLA for almost five years, and he has yet to have done something for his constituents
in Igloolik — perhaps a constituency meeting before his term is up.
We don't know what his
priorities are for Igloolik. At least, after almost five years he must realize
the growing community's essential needs such as infrastructures.
For example, the current
community hall is redundant. It is approximately 30 years old, well past its
usefulness, and any stern, health-conscious building inspector would condemn
the damn building. But then again it's all we got, and we have to make do at
a risk of danger because of deterioration.
Then look at the hamlet
office — this building is 40-some years old — imagine the maintenance
cost after so many years. Basically what has happened since his election back
in 1999 is nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I would say that is one
hell of a way of representing people. If anything is gained from his term as
MLA — it's nothing for his constituency, but something personal to him,
i.e. a pension and salary.
Nicolas "Paoktut"
Arnatsiaq
Igloolik
September 5, 2003
Farewell to dear Martha
Kauki
Martha, You were a friend and my Inuttitut language guide throughout my work
life, in particular, my political work life in recent years.
You always responded with such understanding and patience to my requests for
the right terminology for the not-so-easy terms used in my work.
Your work will carry on for many years, as it is reflected in all of the incredible
work you have done, not only for our region, including the powerful words in
the video that you helped me with, but also in the international work of the
Inuit of the world, more recently the Kuujjuaq Declaration, which you finalized
for us in Inuttitut.
Thank you for teaching me so much and I will truly miss your kind, gentle and
humble spirit.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier
Iqaluit
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