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Around Nunavut

October 20, 2006

St. Jude’s firebug sentenced to two years

The man who set fire to Iqaluit’s St. Jude’s Anglican Cathedral last November was sentenced to more than two years in prison last week, which means he’ll likely do his time in a federal institution.

Litanie Pitsiulak, 28, pleaded guilty to arson, break and enter and possession of stolen property on May 2, 2006.

During his sentencing in the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit last week, he received two years plus one month of jail time.

The court also handed down a restitution order for $3.5 million – the estimated cost of rebuilding the church.

Restitution orders are valid for 10 years, and may be used to garnish wages and seize assets.

Pitsiulak is also prohibited from possessing firearms for the next 10 years.

He has a long string of break-in, theft and mischief convictions dating back to 1993.

October 20, 2006

Pins, posters promote healthy pregnancies

This pin, designed by Karen Yip of Baker Lake, incorporates the FASD knot, a symbol of the group FASD World, and an amauti hood.

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The winners are:

Akpalialuk Duval (Baker Lake); Bathsheba Evviuk (Baker Lake); Caroline Oman (Baker Lake), Keri Iksiktaayuk (Baker Lake); Saila Gillis (Cape Dorset); Jen Ryan (Iqaluit); Lucy Maniyogena (Kugluktuk); Courtney Dunphy (Pond Inlet); Mia Pudnak (Pond Inlet), Cassandra Bergeron (Rankin Inlet); Alicia Manik (Resolute Bay) and Naomi Alookee (Taloyoak.)

The posters will be used for a calendar to promote awareness about FASD. Meanwhile they’re also on public display in the lobby of the legislative assembly building in Iqaluit.

Aglukkaq also launched a Nunavut “FASD knot pin campaign.”

The Baker Lake Prenatal Nutrition Project developed the design for the pin, which shows a mother and a baby. Anyone who pledges either to not drink during her pregnancy or to support someone to not drink during pregnancy will be given a pin to wear as a symbol of their commitment, Aglukkaq said.

“Women don’t drink to harm their baby,” Aglukkaq said. “With positive and visible support, like the FASD Knot pin, women and their loved ones can send a clear message about their willingness to prevent FASD.”

Recent studies in show that no alcohol is safe for unborn children, but a report done by the RCMP in 2001 suggests 30 per cent of Nunavut’s expectant mothers may drink significant amounts of alcohol while pregnant, and 85 per cent of their children will show symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome.

It says 65 per cent of prison inmates may suffer from FASD.

October 6, 2006

CamBay dumps SAO, brings in GN

Last Wednesday, Sept. 27, the hamlet of Cambridge Bay dismissed its senior administrative officer, Mark Calliou.

“We’ve made our decision, and we feel we have cause,” said Cambridge Bay’s mayor, Michelle Gillis.

“We’re asking the community to bear with us during this time of transition.”

On the advice of the hamlet’s lawyer, Gillis said she could not describe what led to Calliou’s departure.

Calliou’s dismissal follows the recent mass resignation on Sept.13 of the community’s fire fighters, including fire chief Keith Morrison, who all cited irreconcilable differences with Calliou.

The hamlet has entered a “voluntary supervision” arrangement with the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Community and Government Services, to select a new SAO, Gillis said.

Denise Ohokak, the hamlet’s manager of human resources, is serving as interim SAO in the mean time.

The hamlet council meets next on Oct. 11.

October 6, 2006

Aqsarniit school still unfinished

The opening date for new classrooms under construction in Iqaluit’s Aqsarniit School has been pushed back another month, from the end of September to Oct. 27.

Students attending the middle school discovered this September that the new classrooms and gymnasium built by SNC Lavalin were unfinished.

This is the first year that Aqsaarniit will hold take in Grade 8 students, as well as Grade 7 and Grade 6 students. That makes a total of 15 homeroom classes, but the building only has only eight finished classrooms.

To deal with the shortage of classrooms, students have been split into morning and afternoon shifts, giving them an hour and a half less class time each day.

If the new classrooms now open on Oct. 27, that means students will have lost 13 days of classes.

However, the school has plans to make up for one week of classes with extracurricular activities, said principal Darlene Nuqingaq.

October 6, 2006

Ben Williams remembered by trophy

Arctic Bay’s most-improved cadet will have a new trophy to hold next spring.

More than $1,000 has been raised to create a trophy for the Cst. Ben Williams Memorial Award for Most Improved Cadet.

Williams was a much-admired Inuk RCMP officer who grew up in Arctic Bay and was once a distinguished cadet.

He died in a snowmobile accident outside Iqaluit during the spring of 2005.

“He was a driving force in the cadet corps, so it’s appropriate,” Cpl. Aletha MacDonald said of the award.

The Mounted Police Foundation, the Hamlet of Arctic Bay, the Taqqut Co-op and the Northern Store donated money for the trophy.

The trophy is expected to be ready by March 2007, when the annual awards ceremony for cadets is held.

October 6, 2006

Search on for worst handyman

If you know someone who’s never used a tape measure or level in his or her life, because these tools take too long to use, you may be able to get them on television.

Producers from the Discovery Television program Worst Handyman have expressed interest in receiving nominations from the eastern Arctic.

This year’s challenge: to build the worst shed, from the bottom up.

You can nominate friends, family and colleagues by sending an email to handyman@propertelevision.com, or visit http://www.discoverychannel.ca/worsthandyman for more information.

October 6, 2006

Dope politician jailed

Nunavut’s candidate for the Marijuana Party in the last federal election has been sentenced to six months in jail for drug-related offences.

Ed deVries was sentenced in Igloolik on Sept. 25 to six months in jail and one month of probation for trafficking and laundering the proceeds of crime.

Those charges date back to December 2003, when police intercepted a filing cabinet sent through the mail, filled with more than 2,000 grams of pot, and addressed to a company owned by deVries.

During an interview this summer, deVries told Nunatsiaq News that he was confident he would be acquitted by a jury of his peers in Igloolik, because, he said, many Igloolik residents smoke marijuana.

Those comments caused much anger in the community, leading some to call for his banishment. DeVries pleaded guilty shortly afterwards.

During the last federal election, deVries received more votes than the Green Party candidate, about seven per cent of ballots cast.

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