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Jan. 23: Decision day for Nunavut

Here's who's running and why they want your vote

NUNATSIAQ NEWS

David Aglukark of the Conservatives: Will the veteran land claim negotiator improve the Conservative vote in Nunavut? (FILE PHOTO)

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David Aglukark: Conservative Party of Canada
The 62-year-old Arviat resident is best-known outside his community for his work as a negotiator with the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut, and later with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

Drawing upon that experience, he says that, if elected, he can help fix the implementation dispute that now divides NTI and the federal government. He also says that he and his fellow Conservatives would fix problems with the national gun registry that make it difficult for Inuit hunters to get firearms certificates.

Some of Canada's national aboriginal organizations have raised questions about the Conservative Party's support for federal goverment spending measures promised in the Kelowna first ministers meeting this past November.

Aglukark is also opposed to the idea of same-sex marriage.

Ed de Vries: Marijuana Party
A small-time fringe organization in southern Canada, the one-issue Marijuana Party is devoted solely to the legalization of marijuana.

Their Nunavut candidate, Ed de Vries of Iqaluit, advocates the idea of building marijuana grow operations in all Nunavut communities to pay for social programs.

He's now facing a set of criminal charges laid last year, including conspiracy to traffick in marijuana and money-laundering. The charges have yet to be dealt with by the courts.

Feliks Kappi: Green Party
The 26-year-old university student from Rankin Inlet hopes to appeal to the youth vote with a campaign that focuses on the environment and social issues.

In his campaign, Kappi emphasizes the damage that climate change poses for the Arctic environment. He advocates affordable daycare in every community, free breakfasts and lunches for school children, and the establishment of call-in centres to offer counselling to troubled youth. He also opposes his party's position on seal hunting.

He complains that federal election ballots won't have candidates' names printed in Inuktitut syllabics.

His Green Party is now running candidates in every Canadian riding, but no Green Party candidate has ever been elected to the House of Commons.

Nancy Karetak-Lindell of the Liberals: The veteran MP won easily in the 1997, 2000 and 2004 elections. But polls suggest that in southern Canada her ruling Liberals will do badly this time around. (FILE PHOTO)

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Nancy Karetak-Lindell: Liberal Party of Canada
Nunavut's incumbent member of the House of Commons points to the $5.1 million in aboriginal spending promised by her party leader, Prime Minister Paul Martin, as proof that her Liberal party is serious about helping aboriginal people, including Inuit.

She told Nunatsiaq News last December that her presence at the Kelowna conference shows she is capable of providing strong representation for Nunavut.

She said the Kelowna measures include badly-needed social housing construction money for Nunavut, some which she says will start flowing this fiscal year. Last year, she voted in favour of Bill C-38, which legalizes same-sex marriage everywhere in Canada.

In response to detractors who say that she's not aggressive enough in defending Nunavut's interests, she says that she gets a lot done in quiet meetings with the prime minister and other government officials.

In her campaign, she also says a national mental health commission proposed by the Liberals in their election platform could lead to improved mental health services for Nunavummiut. She also said she wants to help create more healing measures to help people move forward on dealing with sexual abuse, suicide, domestic violence and substance abuse.

Bill Riddell of the NDP: A last-minute fill-in who stepped up to replace a previous candidate who withdrew. (FILE PHOTO)

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Bill Riddell: New Democratic Party
Bill Riddell of Iqaluit, the president of Nunavut's NDP association, was nominated at the last minute to replace Amanda Ford-Rogers, who withdrew her candidacy just before Christmas.

Since then, Riddell has ran a traditionally left-leaning NDP campaign, focusing on poverty, social housing, and child care.

He's put particular emphasis on food prices, and says the federal food mail program must be improved. He also advocates a "truth and reconciliation commission" to deal with the alleged slaughter of Inuit sled dogs in the 1950s and 1960s.

He also says he's opposed to the Conservative approach to Arctic sovereignty, which would see a military-civilian port built at Iqaluit, saying that the best way to assert sovereignty is to improve the living standards of northern residents.

The June 2004 federal election results in Nunavut

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