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Around Nunavik
September
17, 2004
KRG chair defends
food voucher hand-out
The Kativik Regional Government's launch of a portable food bank program will
help some of Nunavik's poorest residents make ends meet, when it begins handing
out $1.3 million in food vouchers next month.
Johnny Adams, KRG chair, defended the program against skeptics who have suggested
to him that the food vouchers will create a culture of dependency, instead of
motivating people to find jobs.
"We hear a lot about people having a hard time making ends meet with [social]
assistance," Adams said. "Anything we can do to help, we will."
The program was kickstarted by the Katutjiniq economic association, an umbrella
group of Nunavik groups, including Makivik Corp., which will chip in $300,000.
Adams said many details haven't been sorted out yet, such as how the vouchers
will be distributed.
But he said the vouchers will help at least 1,350 residents, including elders
and children, and won't necessarily target Nunavimmiut who are unemployed, or
receiving social assistance.
"You don't necessarily need to be on welfare to need assistance,"
Adams said.
He added that the program, set to begin in mid-October, will not allow recipients
to buy any junk food or cigarettes.
September
17, 2004
Inukjuak residents
qualify as for construction jobs
Several residents of Inukjuak became the latest construction workers in Nunavik
last week to complete training that's meant to give them equal pay for doing
the same work as their southern counterparts.
The lack of journeymen construction workers has been a perennial problem during
the region's short construction season, as employers claim they can't hire more
Inuit for higher-paying jobs, because Inuit aren't trained for them.
As a result, many Inuit have been stuck with menial work, while professional
workers are flown in from the South.
But now that's changing. The Kativik School Board began training Nunavimmiut
last month in construction safety, a move that allows them to register with
Quebec's provincial construction authority.
After that, workers can look forward to getting credit for their apprentice
hours, and eventually getting higher-paying positions during the construction
season.
The program, funded by the Kativik Regional Government, came after KRG representatives
pledged to help at least 50 residents of Nunavik become journeyman plumbers,
carpenters, electricians and heavy equipment operators by the year 2005. At
the same time, KRG started pushing a subsidy program for prospective construction
employers who hired Inuit.
There are currently no journeyman construction workers from Nunavik.
KRG staff expect to fund more training sessions in May, 2005.
September
17, 2004
Councillors eye ATV
bylaws
Kativik Regional Council will debate next week whether Nunavik needs new by-laws
to stem the growing tide of four-wheeler accidents.
Councillors from around the region will fly into to Kuujjuaq this weekend for
the three-day meeting, beginning Tuesday.
September
10, 2004
Sniffing kills another man in Nunavik
Police are not releasing the name of a 24-year-old man who died recently from sniffing naphtha camping gas in Purvinituq.
Capt. Larry Hubert, who oversees the Kativik Regional Police Force in Nunavik’s Hudson Bay communities, said the man was found dead in a shack on Aug. 23, half an hour after he was last seen alive.
The death came one week after a 22-year-old man dropped dead in Kuujjuaraapik as he was walking between the community’s two bars.
Autopsy results are not available yet, but police have been told the younger man was sniffing Honda glue or plumber’s glue for two days prior to his death. The sniffing caused a heart attack.
Hubert said many people don’t realize that sniffing can be fatal.
“We know it causes brain damage,” he said. “But it is fatal. It can happen the first time they sniff.”
Hubert said he has no legal means of detaining or monitoring known sniffers, and can only help intoxicated people reach medical attention at the local nursing station.
September 10, 2004
Inukjuak mayor battles rising tide of ATV mishaps
After a rash of deadly accidents, Inukjuak’s mayor hopes to convince the Kativik regional council to make strict rules for driving all-terrain vehicles in Nunavik.
Andy Moorhouse said his community needs to clamp down on reckless ATV drivers, especially before his Hudson Bay community gets asphalt next year.
He plans to lobby fellow regional councillors at their next meeting, during the week of Sept. 20, to design new rules for the road that will slow down people who are speeding.
Moorhouse said he also expects to create a local bylaw to make helmets mandatory when driving ATVs.
Inukjuak residents have seen several ATV accidents this summer, including the death of a 45-year-old pedestrian, Lucassie Echalook, who was run over by a 14-year-old boy last month. Charges are pending.
Inukjuak also witnessed a serious ATV collision around the same time, involving a drunk driver that sent two youth to hospital in Montreal. The driver and passenger only recently came out of their comas, and are still being treated for their injuries.
Moorhouse said the accidents, mainly involving youth and alcohol, could have been avoided. “It’s just neglect of the rules.”
His lobby to increase street safety will include the mayor of Puvirnituq, where a man flipped his ATV and died instantly last month.
Residents of Inukjuak will also do their part, with a billboard campaign that will place pictures around the community, reminding drivers to watch out for pedestrians and children playing in the street.
Moorhouse hopes the Northern store will contribute to the campaign by selling helmets for reduced prices to customers who buy ATVs.
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