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September 15, 2006
Court deals with pre-trial motions in Jeffrey case
The case of Mark King Jeffrey, a man accused of killing a 13-year-old Iqaluit girl more than three years ago, will be before the courts in Iqaluit for the next four weeks, but it will be several months before an actual trial begins.
Lawyers are expected to spend most of that time dealing with pre-trial issues related to the admissibility of various pieces of evidence.
Crown lawyer Susanne Boucher was expected to give an opening statement to the trial judge on Wednesday morning, but Boucher did not appear due to sickness, and the case was adjourned until Thursday, after this week’s press deadline for Nunatsiaq News.
Over the next four weeks, she is expected to call on more than 20 witnesses during consideration of various pre-trial motions.
The trial proper - the hearing of evidence before a jury - is not expected to begin for several months.
Jeffrey, 25, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jennifer Naglingiq, 13, whose body was found in the first few minutes after midnight on Dec. 6, 2002, at house 2230-B in Iqaluit.
The news of Naglingniq’s death on December 6, 2002 overshadowed a vigil held at Inuksuk High School to mark the 13th anniversary of the 1989 Montreal massacre.
September 8, 2006
European parliamentarians support seal ban
A majority of European
Parliament members have
voted yes to a proposal that
is designed to halt the annual
seal hunt in Canada,
Greenland and Russia.
The declaration, which
was not officially endorsed
by the EU assembly, called
on the EU’s European
Commission to draft a ban
“without delay.”
The declaration is sponsored
by Caroline Lucas, a
Green Party MEP for southeast
England.
Lucas co-sponsored the
declaration, along with four
other members, calling for a
ban on the import or sale in
Europe of any products
from hooded or harp seals.
A “written declaration”
rarely receives the support
of enough MEPs to become
the parliament’s official policy,
but with 373 signatures,
the call for a seal fur import
ban did just that, two weeks
ahead of its parliamentary
deadline.
Belgium, Italy and the
Netherlands have, or are
currently implementing,
national bans on seal products.
Canadian officials,
including DFO Minister
Loyola Hearn, have defended
the hunt in meetings
with their European counterparts.
Their message is that
sealing is essential to the
survival of aboriginal peoples
in the Arctic.
Lucas has said the proposed
ban should exempt
the traditional Inuit hunt
and focus only on commercial
hunters, but, if adopted,
the ban could cripple the
Inuit seal hunt.
“Banning the import of
all seal fur is the only guaranteed
way of saving thousands
of animals’ lives and
showing the EU takes animal
welfare and protection
issues seriously,” Lucas said.
September 8, 2006
New name for anti-suicide day
September 10 will now be
called “Embrace Life Day”
in Nunavut.
Elsewhere in the world,
the day is known as
“Suicide Awareness Day.”
But Inuit organizations
and the Government of
Nunavut are following the
lead of the National Inuit
Youth Council, which
rebranded the day as
Embrace Life Day, to
emphasize the positive values
of living well, rather
than the tragedy of lives lost
to suicide.
Nunavut’s Isaksimagit
Inuusirmi Katujjiqatigiit
Embrace Life Council is
organizing community
marches on Sept. 10, where
participants are asked to
waves flags designed for the
event.
Wristbands will also be
given to children, along
with a brochure, entitled
“Embracing Life: This is
who I am.”
Suicide rates among
Canadian Inuit are 11 times
the national average.
Mary Simon, president
of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami,
said a better understanding
of mental illness in Inuit
communities could help
curb these deaths.
“Our communities need
to recognize mental illness
and see it for what it really
is. It can be treated; people
just need to know where to
go for help and how to help
if asked,” Simon said in a
press release.
As well, mental-wellness
programs need better,
more sustained funding,
and organizations involved
in combating mental illness
need to share information
better, Simon said.
Health minister Leona
Aglukkaq chimed in.
“We need to remember
that life is full of limitless
possibilities if we embrace
life each and every day,” Aglukkaq said in a press
release.
September 8, 2006
Nunasi Corp. wants art for YK building
Nunavut’s territorial-wide
Inuit birthright corporation,
the Nunasi Corp., is looking
for an Inuit artist to help
decorate its head office
building in Yellowknife.
The project is intended to
celebrate Nunasi’s 30th
anniversary.
The company, which
has been headquartered in
Yellowknife since the late
1980s, is looking for art
work to decorate its main
stairwell, between the second
and third floor landings.
Proposals from artists
should include: a biography
of the artist; pictures and
descriptions of previous art
work; a description of the
artists’ overall concept and
methodology; a time line for
completion and contact
information. Fees and
expenses for each project
must also be provided.
Interested artists should
contact the Nunasi Corp. at:
Cathy Munro, 867-920-
4587 or cathy@nunasi.com.
Their mailing address is:
Nunasi Corporation
Suite 301, 5109 48thStreet
Yellowknife, NWT
X1A 1N5
Attn: Cathy Munro, CA
September 8, 2006
Young, talented and craving a trip to China?
Karen Dunphy has a great
opportunity for two Nunavut
teens who possess some knowledge
of Inuit culture and are
skilled at throat singing, drum
dancing and games.
Dunphy, a participant in
Canada World Youth, hopes to
locate two teens with these
attributes and take them to
China with her in November to
demonstrate their skills.
Dunphy went to China with
Canada World Youth in 2004-05
and taught English to
government workers. While she
was there she had the
opportunity to give a
presentation about the land,
culture and the economic
growth of Nunavut to the
president of China and former
Prime Minister Paul Martin.
In August, Dunphy was
invited to return to China by
Siciep, a Chinese youth
organization similar to Canada
World Youth, and come to
Beijing to talk about Nunavut.
She has been asked to bring two
youth with her to help her
demonstrate Inuit games, throat
singing, drum dancing and
other aspects of Inuit culture.
The event will also include
representatives from Sweden,
Russia and China.
“It’s great for anyone who
wants to learn a new culture,
meet new people and see something
different from Iqaluit,” said
Dunphy. “And the food is great.”
Dunphy is seeking two
youth between the ages of 13
and 17 who have a passport and
no criminal record to accompany
her from Nov. 9 to Nov. 27.
For more information contact
Karen Dunphy in Iqaluit at
979-0669.
August 25, 2006
From Nunavut DM to head of United Church
Nora Sanders, formerly Nunavut’s deputy minister of justice, is now the general secretary of the United Church of Canada.
Sanders was well-liked and widely-respected during her stint with the Government of Nunavut. She started with the GN as deputy minister of justice in 1998 until a sudden departure in May of 2004.
At the time, it was perceived that she took the fall for Kevin O’Brien, the former MLA for Arviat and speaker of the house, who was found to have been charged with illegal possession of liquor in Arviat, a dry community.
This undisclosed charge, and subsequent guilty plea, caused much outrage among MLAs, because it was not publicized until after the February, 2004 territorial election, even though O’Brien was defeated in that election anyway.
Shortly after her departure, Sanders found a job as a deputy minister with the Saskatchewan provincial government.
Her new job makes her the senior staff and administrative officer for the United Church’s general council, executive and sub-executive.
August 25, 2006
Okalik names new principal secretary
Premier Paul Okalik named Patricia Angnakak of Iqaluit as his new principal secretary this past Monday.
Angnakak served as CEO of the Kakivak Association from 1992 to 1999, and more recently, as NTI’s director of social and cultural development. She was also Nunavut’s first deputy commissioner.
A political secretary serves as chief of staff and political advisor to the premier. She will be one of several staff who work closely with Okalik on a regular basis.
Angnakak fills the void left by Peter Ma, who was shuffled from his former post as principal secretary on July 1 to a new job as deputy minister of finance.
That move was part of larger shake-up that the government says is supposed to help Inuit senior managers gain experience and skills.
August 11, 2006
Marijuana Party leader pleads guilty
Nunavut’s leader of the Marijuana Party pleaded guilty to longstanding drug-related charges in an Iqaluit court this Tuesday.
Ed deVries pleaded guilty to trafficking marijuana and laundering the proceeds of crime, two charges he’s faced since August 2004.
The charges stem from an RCMP investigation that began in December 2003, when police intercepted a filing cabinet containing $100,000 worth of marijuana in Montreal during a Canada Post inspection. The cabinet was bound for a company owned by deVries in Iqaluit.
Earlier this year, deVries’ accomplice, Andrew Macdonald, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and is currently serving 90 days in prison.
Several weeks ago deVries told Nunatsiaq News he planned to stand trial in Igloolik by jury. He said he believed he would be acquitted, given the number of pot smokers he says live in the community.
Since then he’s been accused of tarnishing the community’s reputation by angry residents and Igloolik’s mayor, Paul Quassa. Quassa has said some elders want deVries banished.
DeVries is to appear for sentencing in Igloolik on Sept. 25.
August 4, 2006
Parks officer dies in climbing accident
A Parks Canada patrol officer fell to his death while rappelling down the face of Mount Thor in Auyuittuq National Park last Tuesday.
Philip Robinson, 26, had worked for Parks Canada since 2001, first in Quttinirpaaq National Park on Ellesmere Island and later in Auyuittuq National Park, located between Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq. Robinson was originally from Igloolik.
“He was amazing. He connected to everybody. He was one of those larger than life people,” said Pauline Scott, a communications officer for Parks Canada in Iqaluit.
Police and Parks Canada are investigating the death, which is believed to be caused either by equipment failure or human error. Robinson was considered an experienced climber, Slawson said.
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