January 7, 2005
A look back at 2004
The year in review for
Nunavut and Nunavik
NUNATSIAQ NEWS
Nunavut hockey star Jordin Tootoo was sent to the minor league Milwaukee Admirals
until the NHL player lockout is over. (FILE PHOTO)
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The first half of the year 2004 was dominated by political activity: the Nunavut
territorial election, a federal election, and executive elections for Nunavut
Tunngavik Inc. and the Makivik Corp.
But after it was all over, most of the old familiar faces were back in charge.
Nancy Karetak-Lindell won re-election as the Liberal MP for Nunavut, Paul Okalik
won the Nunavut premier's job again, and Adamie Alaku defeated Mary Simon to
hang onto his job as economic vice-president at the Makivik Corp.
The only major change occurred when Paul Kaludjak defeated Cathy Towtongie
for the presidency of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
The second half of the year was dominated by Paul Martin's visit tour of northern
Canada, followed by Martin's pledge to create a "northern strategy"
by the spring.
Nunavik recording star Elisapie Isaac gets ready for a concert at Bishop's University
in Lennoxville, Quebec last year. (FILE PHOTO)
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January
- The 35-day campaign period for Nunavut's second general election campaign,
to be held Feb. 16, kicks off Jan. 12. It's the first general election to
be run by the the new Elections Nunavut agency. As nominations close for Nunavut's
second general election, 82 people are lined up to seek jobs in Nunavut's
19-seat legislature. Tagak Curley, an old veteran from the 1970s and 1980s,
stages a political comeback by taking the Rankin Inlet North seat by acclamation.
- Political veteran Manitok Thompson, the incumbent MLA for Rankin Inlet
South-Whale Cove, decides she won't contest the territorial election, and
later attempts to replace Nancy Karetak-Lindell as the Liberal candidate in
for Nunavut.
- James Arvaluk, 55, the former MLA for Nanulik, is sentenced to nine months
in jail for beating up his ex-girlfriend after a drunken party in Coral Harbour
four years earlier. "He has failed to satisfy me that he has begun the
healing journey," Justice Earl Johnson says, citing Arvaluk's stubborn
lack of remorse.
- Igloolik residents mourn the passing of Graham Rowley, a British explorer
who mapped the Foxe Basin area in the 1930s and later served as a northern
administrator and advisor with the federal government. Known to Iglulingmiut
as "Makkutunnaaq," or "very young person," Rowley was
92 when he died at this home in Ottawa.
- Three Inuit trailblazers crossed paths early in January at a hockey game
in Toronto's Air Canada Centre: the first Inuk to win election to the House
of Commons, Peter Ittinuar, the first Inuk to make it as an international
pop star, Susan Aglukark, and the first Inuk to play in the NHL, Jordin Tootoo.
- Pee Korgak, 40, of Iqaluit, dies in an Ottawa hospital after being beaten
into a coma at his housing unit in Iqaluit. The crime is still unsolved.
- Three candidates - Paul Kaludjak, Ben Kovic, and Archie Arnakaq - step
forward to challenge incumbent Cathy Towtongie for the presidency of Nunavut
Tunngavik Inc. Kaludjak eventually succeeds in unseating Towtongie in the
March 16 vote.
- The RCMP reports that Iqaluit's crime rate rose 15 per cent in 2003.
February
- Salamonie Jaw, 49, is sent to prison for life with no chance of parole
for 25 years, after a Cape Dorset jury finds him guilty of first-degree murder
in the shooting death of Cst. Jurgen Seewald, the first RCMP member to die
on the job in 25 years. Jaw killed Seewald with a shotgun after the police
officer, working alone that night, responded to a complaint from Jaw's live-in
girlfriend.
- U.S. government officials say their government will not agree to the creation
of an Arctic Council policy document setting out ways of reducing climate
change in the Arctic.
- Mitiarjuk Attasie Nappaaluk of Kangiqsujuaq, one of Nunavik's best-known
and respected elders, is appointed to the Order of Canada by Governor General
Adrienne Clarkson.
In March, Salamonie Jaw of Cape Dorset was convicted of murdering Cst. Jurgen
Seewald, and sent to prison for the rest of his life, with no chance of
parole for 25 years. (FILE PHOTO)
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- A Quebec court judge rejects the Kativik School Board's attempt to block
the Makivik Corp.'s negotiations for a new form of regional government in
Nunavik.
- o About 10,000 voters go to the polls to elect Nunavut's second legislative
assembly on Feb. 16. Under Nunavut's new system of voter registration, turnout
appears high, but that's only because many eligible voters aren't registered.
- A second group of people, 68 in all, who claim to have suffered from sexual
abuse at the hands of child molester Ed Horne, file a statement of claim in
court.
March
- Manitok Thompson, the ex-MLA for Rankin Inlet South-Whale Cove, launches
an aggressive bid to replace Nancy Karetak-Lindell as the Liberal candidate
for Nunavut. Then she pulls out of the race after Liberal Party of Canada
officials take a look at the Nunatsiaq riding association's voting rules.
Thompson vows to run as an independent, but in the subsequent federal election
campaign, Karetak-Lindell's Liberal machine rolls to an easy victory.
- After nearly three weeks of behind-closed-doors deal-making and lobbying,
MLAs choose Paul Okalik as premier, rejecting a strong challenge from Tagak
Curley.
- In a move that oozes with political symbolism, Premier Paul Okalik appoints
two women to the two most prestigious jobs in his new cabinet. Levinia Brown,
from the Kivalliq region, becomes deputy premier and health minister, and
Leona Aglukkaq, from the Kitikmeot region, becomes government house leader
and finance minister.
- Paul Kaludjak ekes out a narrow victory over three other candidates, including
incumbent Cathie Towtongie, to win the presidency of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
- Prime Minister Paul Martin meets an assortment of Nunavik political leaders
in Val d'Or, Quebec, his first meeting with northern leaders following his
swearing-in as prime minister
Nunavut rock singer Lucie Idlout performed at Toronto's legendary El Mocambo
last year. (FILE PHOTO)
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- Adamie Alaku defeats Mary Simon for the "economic vice-president"
post on Makivik Corp.'s executive.
- Cumberland Resources Ltd. announces a one-year delay in the start-up time
for the Meadowbank mine near Baker Lake, after company executives fumble their
initial estimate of how much it will cost to build the mine.
- The Hamlet of Kugluktuk teeters on the edge of financial and administrative
collapse after Cal Shaw, the municipality's CAO, quits his job "under
duress" and seeks legal advice. His wife, the hamlet's only financial
worker, quits her job too, leaving the hamlet office with no administrative
or financial expertise. Around the same time, mayor Stanley Anablak also resigns.
Eventually, Peter Taptuna is appointed new mayor, and the GN appoints an administrator.
April
- The Government of Nunavut buys three and a half years of labour peace by
offering the Nunavut Employees Union a series of hefty increases in northern
allowance payments for workers in smaller communities, and wage increases
of 3 per cent a year for three and a half years. It's later revealed that
the deal will cost the GN an extra $19 million over its first two years.
Nunavik self-government negotiators Minnie Grey, Harry Tulugak and Maggie
Emudluk. Behind them is Sam Silverstone, a long-time Makivik Corp. lawyer
and an influential advisor. (FILE PHOTO)
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- The troubled Baffin Fisheries Coalition manages to hang together after
a board meeting in Iqaluit, despiting mounting criticism of the organization's
plans for developing Nunavut's turbot fishery in northern Davis Strait. Later
in the year, the Nattivak HTO of Qikiqtarjuaq pulls out of the BFC, saying
they want their own turbot quota and their own fish plant as part of a community-based
fishery.
- In a step towards regional autonomy, the Kativik Regional Government signs
its first block funding agreement with Quebec City. Under the deal, the KRG
gets one lump sum from Quebec City every year, then makes its own political
decisions about where and how to spend it.
- Air Labrador abruptly cancels its Nunavut-Newfoundland scheduled service,
forcing angry ticket holders to look for flights on other airlines.
- Despite a 12-hour fight put by the community's under-equipped firefighters,
Kugluktuk's Roman Catholic church burns to the ground on April 13. In a horrifying
incident about a week and a half later, a Kugluktuk man walks into the ruined
church and commits suicide by stabbing himself in the chest and then setting
himself on fire. Police find his charred remains on April 23.
- Prime Minister Paul Martin announces the creation of an Inuit secretariat
within the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
- After half a day of meetings with Andy Mitchell, who was then the minister
of DIAND, Premier Paul Okalik says he wants an agreement with the federal
government on devolution of control over public lands and resource development
before Nunavut's next election.
- Leanne Irkotee, 22, dies at the Rankin Inlet health centre after she's
found badly injured at her home. Adrien VanEindhoven, 30, of Rankin Inlet,
is arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with her death.
May
- Tough new regulations imposed by the Workers' Compensation Board make it
illegal for anyone to smoke in or near an enclosed work site in Nunavut.
- Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Government of Nunavut team up to present
the federal government with a $1.9 billion plan to build 300 to 400 new social
housing units a year over the next 10 years. The federal government has yet
to respond to the proposal.
- About 40 organizations representing Nunavut's political and bureaucratic
elite form a new organization called the "Nunavut Economic Forum,"
with a new acronym: "NEF."
- Fire marshall Gerald Pickett, in a report into the 2003 fire that devastated
Iqaluit's Joamie School, says community fire departments in Nunavut don't
have enough training.
- Rose and Barney Tootoo launch a lawsuit against five Manitoba police officers
in connection with the suicide of their son, Terence Tootoo.
Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik flips pancakes at July 9 Nunavut Day activities
in Iqaluit. (FILE PHOTO)
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- Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik dumps Nunavut's popular deputy minister of
justice, Nora Sanders, after a murky chain of events that seem vaguely connected
to a minor liquor charge that former speaker Kevin O'Brien pleaded guilty
to in January of 2004.
- The Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, outlines a long series of
financial blunders committed within Nunavut's five Crown corporations, especially
the Nunavut Power Corp. and the Business Credit Corp. She says the NPC is
not getting enough revenue to pay its bills and must raise rates.
June
- The Baffinland Mining Corp., now under the control of a new group of investors,
spends $7.5 million on an exploration program at the old Mary River iron ore
site near Pond Inlet. If their plans bear fruit, huge 250,000-tonne ships
could one day transport iron ore from North Baffin to steel mills in Europe.
- The minister of Indian affairs and northern development, Andy Mitchell,
says yes to the Jericho mine, Nunavut's first, and Canada's third diamond
mine.
- Education Minister Ed Picco announces "an aggressive reform"
of Nunavut's school system, focusing on language of instruction and curriculum
development.
- DIAND sends threatening letters to hamlets, saying their SAOs could be
fined $100,000 a year or go to jail for one year for maintaining inadequate
sewage lagoons.
- The Anglican dicocese of the Arctic launches a fund-raising campaign aimed
at raising $7 million to pay for a major renovation of St. Jude's Cathedral
in Iqaluit.
- Seemeega Aqpik of Kimmirut and some business partners begin digging for
sapphires at a site near their community, under a deal they've struck with
True North Gems of Vancouver.
Ashley Paniyuk-Dean was declared Miss Nunavut for 2004, and participated
in a national beauty contest. (FILE PHOTO)
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- After ignoring the Nunavut Power Corp. since 2001, MLAs on the assembly's
standing committee on operations wake up to its existence. The spend most
of a week poring over the auditor general of Canada's recent report, grilling
power corporation executives about the company's financial problems.
- In the June 28 federal election, Nancy Karetak-Lindell easily wins Nunavut
for the Liberals, taking 51 per cent of votes cast. But Nunavut voters stay
away from the polls in droves, as only 42.9 per cent of electors bother to
vote.
- Sylvia Lyall, 41, is found dead in her Iqaluit apartment. Pat Anablak,
50, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with her death.
July
- Sarah Kay, a fair practices officer, finds that GN officials did not subject
Robert Ayalik to racist treatment when they coerced him into quitting his
GN job in 2001. But she she did find that incompetence by senior officials
led directly his departure from the government.
- Twenty-five residents of Pangnirtung petition to have the English name
of their community changed to "Panniqtuuq," the dual orthography
version of Pang's Inuktitut name. But in a vote later in the year, residents
choose tradition over political correctness, and the community's English name
remains "Pangnirtung."
- The Bank of Montreal angers many Iqaluit and Nunavut residents with a decision
to close its Iqaluit branch.
Mattel Corp. produced an Inuk version of Barbie last year, designed by Christy
Marcus.
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- The Nunavut Water Board gives Breakwater Resources Ltd. the go-ahead to
start demolishing the Nanisivik town site.
- The Baffin Fisheries Coalition strikes a deal with a Greenland-Iceland
fishing company to lease a factory-freezer trawler. The vessel, which is "Canadianized"
under a shell company called Nattanaq Fisheries and then re-named the "Inuksuk,"
is dogged by controversy for most the year. Because of a bureaucratic goof-up,
the boat fishes for most of the year without a proper licence. By the end
of the year, MPs on the Commons standing committee on fisheries and oceans
vows to look into the situation.
- Andy Scott, an MP from New Brunswick, replaces Andy Mitchell as minister
of Indian affairs and northern development.
August
- New numbers released by Statistics Canada show that Nunavut's crime rate
continues to escalate. They show that in 2003, 2,333 persons were charged
with offenses, compared with only 1,362 persons in 1999.
- Renowned Inuit singer Charlie Adams suffers a near-fatal accident in Montreal,
but his wife Elsie isn't allowed to stay at the Nunavik House patient home
because of blunders made by Nunavik health officials.
- During a five-day, 7,500-mile trip across northern Canada, Prime Minister
Paul Martin says he believes in a new "northern vision" for Canada.
- Army, Navy and Air Force personnel finish a join exercise in Pangnirtung
Fiord, despite begin plagued by wet, foggy weather.
Little Kiana and Cassandra of Iqaluit enjoy last year's Canada Day parade.
(FILE PHOTO)
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- Researchers aboard the Coast Guard vessel Amundsen conduct a major health
survey among Nunavik residents.
September
- As anti-violence activists conduct a "Take Back the Night" march
in Cambridge Bay, a newly-released offender breaks in to the homes of four
Cambridge Bay women and sexually assaults them. An angry Keith Peterson, the
MLA for Cambridge Bay, complains that no one at Baffin Correctional Centre
informed the RCMP or the local probation officer about the man's return to
the community.
- Members of the Nattivak Hunters and Trappers Association of Qikiqtarjuaq
go fishing for political support in Ottawa, landing meetings with two members
of Parliament and officials at the prime minister's office, as they continue
their quest for an independent community fishery.
- A young Rankin Inlet woman, Ashley Paniyuk-Dean, becomes the first "Miss
Nunavut," representing the territory at a national beauty pageant.
- City officials say they can't find a fix for Iqaluit's Arctic Winter Games
arena, which is sinking into the tundra. As of now, city staff still can't
make ice on the arena floor.
- Prime Minister Paul Martin commits $700 million in federal money to help
improve health care for aborginal people in Canada.
The
Bank of Montreal used this sign to tell customers about their decision to
close their Iqaluit branch. (FILE PHOTO)
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- The body of Johnny Aloupa, 31, of Quaqtaq, is found in Kuujjuaq ravaged
by dogs after he had gone mising three weeks earlier while in the care of
social services.
- The trial of Mark King Jeffrey, who stands accused of first degree murder
in the killing of 13-year-old Jennifer Naglingniq, is postponed until some
time in 2005. Jeffrey, who was committed to trial after a preliminary enquiry
earlier in the year, is scheduled to go to court Jan. 13 to have a trial date
set.
- Nunavut officials crow about the new money that will flow from Ottawa over
the next five to six years through a beefed-up formula financing agreement
and a new health funding agreement. But it doesn't stop the Nunavut government
from sliding into a growing deficit.
- NTI and the GN make a joint pitch to Ottawa for a massive Inuit social
housing construction project that would cost $1.9 billion over 10 years.
October
- The Qulliq Energy Corp. files a new rate application on behalf of its subsidiary,
the Nunavut Power Corp. Instead of a different rate for each community, the
NPC would charge one Nunavut price for all commercial customers and one Nunavut
price for all residential customers. The proposal soon meets nearly universal
opposition from businesses and and homeowners throughout Nunavut.
Alec Clunas provides customer service in Kuujjuaq for Nunavik's new wireless
Internet
service, which was launched early December in all 14 Nunavik communities.
(PHOTO
COURTESY OF THE KATIVIK REGIONAL GOVERNMENT)
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- The Tahera Diamond Corp. strikes a deal with Tiffany and Co. that will
give them most of the cash they need to start building their Jericho mine
in the Kitikjmeot. Tiffany will loan Tahera $35 million over the next five
years and will buy most of Jericho's diamonds.
- Eli Ulayuk, 36, formerly of Igloolik and now a Yellowknife resident, is
charged with first degree murder in the death of his parole officer, Louise
Pargeter of Yellowknife.
- A young Iqaluit man is convicted of second-degree murder in the death of
47-year-old Davidee Nowdlak in 2002. The young man, who was 17 at the time
of the incident and whose name may not be reported, kicked Nowdlak in the
head numerous times and smashed the bottom end of a glass Coke bottle onto
his face. He will be sentenced some time in 2005.
- Donald Sivuarapik of Puvirnituq is charged with first-degree murder in
the death of Alacie Moses, 20, after a man stabs her numerous times in the
chest, back, arms and shoulders. Two children, aged 10 and 11, witness the
attack and try to prevent it. At the time, Sivuarapik is already facing assault
charges in connection with previous attacks on Moses, and members of his family
had even tried to go to the police to have those charges dropped.
- A 16-year-old teenage boy from Coral Harbour is charged with second-degree
murder in the bludgeoning death of Brian Alexander Wellard, a retired school
bus driver from Winnipeg. Wellard's decomposing body was found in his Winnipeg
apartment Sept. 20. The Coral Harbour boy is arrested in late October at his
father's house in Coral Harbour, after police execute a Canada-wide arrest
warrant.
- Three men from Taloyoak are acquitted of illegally hunting narwhal.
November
- Harbir Boparai, a former territorial government worker, launches a grievance
against the Government of Nunavut. Boparai, who is of South Asian descent,
alleges that senior GN officials fired him because his race, in response to
malicious rumours in Pangnirtung. Boparai produces documents that suggest
Premier Paul Okalik and his staff played a role in the scandal. Boparai's
grievance will be dealt with at an arbitration hearing that has yet to be
scheduled.
- A group of Pangnirtung residents announce their desire to start a new community
on Opingivik Island, at the site of an outpost camp founded more than 25 years
ago by Lypa Pitsiulak.
- RCMP lay charges under the Nunavut Elections Act against 21 candidates
and financial agents for failing to file legally-required documents.
- The Nattivak HTO and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami call for a reduction in
the use of dragger-trawling in Davis Strait, a technique used by factory-freezer
trawlers hired by the Baffin Fisheries Coalition and other firms. They say
the practice destroys fish populations and damages the ocean floor. Meanwhile,
the Common standing committee on fisheries announces that they will do a "study"
of the BFC's turbot quota in Davis Strait.
- Allen Kabvitok of Whale Cove, who in March 2003 strangled Donna Kusugak
to death and then mutilated her body, pleads guilty to manslaughter in a plea
bargain. Kabvitok, 36, was orginally charged with first-degree murder. That
charge was later reduced to second-degree murder. In avoiding a murder conviction,
Kabvitok also avoids a mandatory life sentence. A Nunavut court judge sentences
him to 14 years in prison. Kabvitok will be eligible for parole after only
seven years.
- A 16-year-old boy from Cambridge Bay is charged with attempted murder after
a 26-year-old woman in Cambridge Bay suffers numerous stab wounds in an early
morning attack.
- In a mid-year fiscal update, Finance Minister Leona Aglukkaq reports that
the Nunavut government's 2004-05 operating deficit will get worse, in spite
of extra cash that Nunavut expects to get from the federal government. The
GN expects to spend $941.1 million by March 31, but will receive only $922.1
million in revenues, producing a $19 million deficit.
- Premier Paul Okalik appoints Iqaluit East MLA Ed Picco as energy minister,
replacing Baker Lake MLA David Simailak. Anne Crawford, a former deputy minister
of the executive becomes the Qulliq Energy Corp.'s new president. Former president
Bobby Gunn becomes interim president of the Qulliq Fuel Corp.
- The eight-nation Arctic Council and the International Arctic Science Committee
release a summary of their massive report on climate change in the Arctic.
A team of 250 scientists concludes that the Arctic is warming many times faster
than the rest of the planet. This means that within 100 years, most of the
permanent sea-ice around the North Pole will disappear, the treeline will
move hundreds of kilometres northwards, and numerous Arctic species will die
off.
December
- The Qulliq Energy Corp. adjusts the Nunavut Power Corp.'s rate application
after the URRC discovers an error in it. If accepted as is, commercial power
customers in Iqaluit would be hit with a 106.8 per cent rate increase after
April 1, 2005.
- Maliiganik Tukisiniakvik, the Iqaluit-based legal aid clinic, celebrates
its 30th anniversary.
- Eva Aariak, Nunavut's respected commissioner of official languages, quits
her job, after a year of waiting for MLAs to figure out whether they'll re-appoint
or replace her.
- Finance Minister Leona Aglukkaq announces that the Nunavut government will
seek an extra $45 million for the current fiscal year, including an extra
$19 milllion to fatten the pay cheques of GN workers under a new collective
agreement with the NEU.
- The City of Iqaluit combines nearly half a million dollars worth of spending
cuts with a small property tax increase to produce a balanced budget for 2005.
City councillors vote to dump Iqaluit's underused bus service, reduce the
frequency of garbage pick-ups to once a week, and to create a new kind of
recycling program.
- Kugluktuk is overwhelmed by a rash of youthful theft and vandalism. so
much food is stolen from the co-op warehouse that food prices are expected
to rise.
- Prime Minister Paul Martin announces that his government will work out
a "northern strategy" with the three territories by the spring,
and commits to a devolution agreement with Nunavut by 2008.
- DFO officials reveal that their five-year community-based beluga management
plan for Iqaluit isn't working.
- Inuit art goes on display at the Peabody-Essex museum in Boston.
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Nunavut 99
