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Around Nunavut

November 12, 2004

Rankin killer gets 14 years for manslaughter

A Nunavut court judge sentenced a former resident of Whale Cove last week to more than a decade in prison, after the man admitted to killing a Rankin Inlet woman last year.

Allen Kabvitok, 36, plead guilty to manslaughter, and confessed to strangling and then mutilating the body of Donna Kusugak in March, 2003.

Kabvitok was originally charged with first-degree murder, a charge that was later downgraded to second-degree murder.

After hearing Kabvitok’s guilty plea, Justice Ted Scanlan sentenced him to 14 years in prison, with no eligibilty for parole for seven years.

He also ordered Kabvitok to submit a DNA sample to a federal registry, and extended the ban on his use of firearms.

November 12, 2004

Baffin mayors meet in Iqaluit

Mayors from across the Baffin will meet in Iqaluit next week to discuss community issues, concerns and challenges.

The Baffin Mayors Forum will take place Nov. 16 - 18 at the Navigator Inn.

November 12, 2004

Northern Lights creep south

Last Sunday, the dancing lights of the aurora borealis were visible as far south as Oklahoma, the Seattle Times reports.

The light show was caused by an “extreme geomagnetic storm,” said John Sahr, an associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington.

Cosmic weather causing such a storm is not unusual. Solar activity takes place on an 11-year cycle. The most recent cycle peaked last year, bringing unusual magnetic activity with it.

High solar winds can force charged particles from space into the atmosphere. The northern lights appear when these particles oxygen and nitrogen molecules 20 to 200 miles above the planet.

The northern lights are visible in Seattle several times a year, but are usually hidden by clouds.

November 12, 2004

Rights tribunal goes to Coral Harbour

Nunavut’s new human rights tribunal will be located in Coral Harbour, premier and justice minister Paul Okalik announced this past Friday.

The new chair of the tribunal will be Gela Oolayou Pitsiulak, originally of Kimmirut and now living in Iqaluit. Sue Cooper of Iqaluit will be vice-chair.

Tribunal members include Louise Haulli of Igloolik, Aime Ahegona of Kugluktuk and Robert Tookoome, originally from Baker Lake and now living in Iqaluit. Marion Love is interim executive director.

The human rights tribunal stems from the Nunavut Human Rights Act passed in the legislature one year ago.

Members of the tribunal will balance Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit with Canadian laws to make sure that everyone is treated equally in Nunavut. The tribunal will mediate conflicts involving harassment or discrimination, and may also educate the public about their rights.

To contact the tribunal, call 1-800-413-6478.

November 12, 2004

Boy charged with attempted murder

A teenager faces a charge of attempted murder after a 26-year-old woman was found stabbed in a home in Cambridge Bay earlier this week.

RCMP responded to a call about an attack around 5 a.m. on Sunday. The woman, who received multiple stab wounds, first went to the health centre, then was medivaced to Yellowknife, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Shortly after the call, police arrested a 16-year-old boy in relation to the incident.

The teen will appear in court in Iqaluit on Nov. 15.

November 12, 2004

Booze, dope seized at Iqaluit post office

An RCMP crack-down on bootleg booze and drugs coming into Nunavut through the Iqaluit post office recently turned up large amounts of marijuana and liquor.

Using a police dog, the RCMP drug squad seized more than three kilograms of pot and about 100 bottles of booze, during searches conducted from Oct. 18-23.

No arrests have been made, but police say investigations are on-going.

November 12, 2004

Inuit applaud Canadian North discount, ask for more

Canadian North will pay half the price of one return ticket for any Inuit passengers flying with the airline over the next year.

Airline executives announced the discount while giving an update on their finances at the Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. annual general meeting last week.

“It’s a thank-you for our shareholders,” said Christy Brewster, the airline’s northern community relations officer. “It’s basically because we’re in a healthy position that we can give something back.”

But some NTI delegates said the airline still needs to do more, complaining that the company doesn’t service Arctic Bay or Sanikiluaq. They added a request that the company change routes so customers don’t have to fly through Iqaluit as much.

The airline’s executive said they can’t afford to open new routes, but pledged to visit smaller communities over the next year to listen to their concerns.

Brewster also said that the airline would look at resurrecting their now-defunct family airfare.

November 5, 2004

More flights for Baffin communities

This week, First Air took its new ATR 42-300 turboprop to Clyde River and Iqaluit where it invited members of the public to check out the faster, brighter, roomier aircraft.

The ATR 42-300s, which can carry a combination of passengers and cargo and land on ice or gravel runways, replace the aging fleet of 748s.

The new planes will fly six times a week to Clyde River and Pond Inlet starting on Nov. 15 and to Hall Beach and Igloolik starting early in 2005, upping the number of weekly connections through to Ottawa from the communities from 18 to 28.

But the new planes won’t be able to land in Panniqtuuq until an estimated $27 million of work is done to extend its cramped runway.

Coral Harbour teen charged in Winnipeg killing

Officers from the Winnipeg police homicide unit traveled to Coral Harbour last weekend to apprehend a 16-year old in connection with the bludgeoning death of Brian Alexander Wellard, a retired Winnipegger, the Winnipeg Sun reports.

Wellard’s decomposing body was found in his appartment on the morning of Sept. 20. An autopsy confirmed that he died of blunt trauma.

Police had released the victim’s photo to the media and made a public plea for leads in the case. Last month, after identifying a suspect, investigators consulted the Crown attorney’s office, and on Oct. 18, the Crown authorized a Canada-wide arrest warrant for the person on a charge of second-degree murder.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested last weekend at his father’s home in Coral Harbour. Investigators returned to Winnipeg this past Monday with the boy, who was detained at the Manitoba Youth Centre.

HTO lobbies against dragging

Koalie Kooneeliusie, chairman of Qikiqtarjuaq’s Nattivak Hunters and Trappers Association board, and its secretary-treasurer, Samuel Nuqingaq, are not happy about the practice of dragging for fish by trawlers in the fishing zones OA and OB off Baffin Island.

The pair recently met in Ottawa with Nunavut Member of Parliament Nancy Karetak-Lindell and Jose Kusugak, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, to discuss the issue.

Factory trawlers drag nets across the ocean floor for shrimp and other fish. The process has a kind of vacuum effect.

“The ocean floor is being destroyed by net dragging,” Kusuhak said, “This is an issue that is vital to confront, and we must discuss it, and obtain a mandate from you to be able to communicate the nature of the issue to the government of Canada in order to preserve our way of life and the environment.”

Fancy yellow sapphires on Baffin

True North Gems has announced the discovery of yellow, clear and pale blue fancy coloured sapphires from its Beluga sapphire property near Kimmirut. In August, 80 pieces of fancy coloured sapphire rough were discovered and collected by Seemeega Aqpik, a co-discoverer of the Beluga property, and colleague Tony Le Cheminant.

November 5, 2004

Copter crash claims one life

A three-day drama started to unfold last Saturday, when RCMP in Taloyoak were called about a Canadian Helicopters crash near the Distance Early Warning site at Shepherd’s Bay, about a three-hour snowmobile ride south of the community.

The Bell-212 helicopter had apparently taken off toward Gjoa Haven in whiteout conditions shortly after noon.

The crash killed pilot Jack Bhanwer, 47, one of the five people on board. Survivors walked to the nearby DEW line site to report the incident.

A rescue helicopter was sent to the scene from Hall Beach, but was forced to return to Kugaaruk due to poor visibility. A ground search team was organized in Taloyoak, but could not leave the community due to the increasing blizzard conditions and nightfall.

Early Saturday evening, two search and rescue technicians, called SAR techs, parachuted to the site from a Hercules aircraft that had been sent up from Winnipeg.

Finally, on Sunday morning, the helicopter left Kugaaruk and was able to land at the site. However, it was unable to leave due to a blizzard.

On Monday, the rescue helicopter was able to leave the site and bring the injured to the community. They were later taken to Winnipeg on the Hercules.

The survivors of the crash included the co-pilot and three employees of Nasittuq Corporation that has the contract to operate and maintain the unmanned radar sites of the North Warning System for the Department of National Defense.

RCMP and transportation safety investigators and a coroner visited the crash scene. Following their investigation, they returned to Taloyoak with the deceased and the SAR techs.

November 5, 2004

Nunavut weather a record-breaker

Last Saturday, Resolute Bay hit a record low of -31.3 C, surpassing the previous low of -30.7 C set in 1978 for this date.

On Monday, Resolute Bay hit a record of -32.7 C, surpassing the previous low of -31.0 C for Oct. 31.

November 5, 2004

Elders complain about court system

Two representatives of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association raised concerns about elders in the justice system to Premier Paul Okalik, who is also the Government of Nunavut’s minister of justice.

Elders are frequently invited to present their opinions before sentencing at trials, but Piujuq Enoogoo, the community director for Arctic Bay, is concerned that “they are just being used.”

“The elders are listened to but they don’t have any say,” Enoogoo said.

Gamailie Kilukishak, the QIA’s elders’ representative, had a similar concern. Kilukishak wants to see a system where elders and judges have equal power.

“Before the white man came, Inuit treated people differently than today’s culture,” Kilukishak said. “Elders can offer counsel and forgiveness.”

Kilukishak was also concerned about the timing of trials and how it affected the elders involved.

“They extend the courts on and on,” he said.

November 5, 2004

QIA hears ups and downs from women and youth

A report submitted by Neeve Uttaq of Igloolik, the women’s representative to the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, was short: a few meetings attended and limited activity due to the educational leave of QIA’s women’s coordinator, Jean Kigutikarjuk.

Board members suggested more collaboration with Pauktuutit and undertaking specific projects for the women’s department.

Youth director Eric Nutarariaq of Igloolik outlined the four main youth activities of the QIA: the Baffin Regional Youth Council annual general meeting, a suicide prevention video, the founding of the Isaksimagit Inuusirmi Katujjiqatigiit Embrace Life Council and the Sprouts program that linked youth with kids in Iqaluit in the summer of 2003.

November 5, 2004

Shopping bags plague Nunavut

“Shopping bags, I’ve said it before, are a danger to the environment,” said Loasie Audlakiak, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association’s director for Qikiqtarjuak, at the QIA’s annual general meeting in Iqaluit last Thursday.

“There have been a number of outboard motors that broke down because of these plastic bags,” Audlakiak said. “They could be dangerous to animals.”

Audlakiak raised his concern to Olayuk Akeysuk, Nunavut’s environment minister, who heard the same issue raised during the spring session of the Legislative Assembly.

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