Photo: New Inuit fisheries minister gets marching orders

Hunter Tootoo makes his first public address as Canada’s new fisheries minister at a conference in Iqaluit Nov. 22 organized by the Northern Territories Water and Waste Association. Tootoo, elected as Nunavut MP in the October federal election, recently got his marching orders as minister responsible for fisheries and the Coast Guard in a letter released by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The PM outlined a list of priorities for Tootoo including using scientific knowledge and taking into account climate change when making decisions affecting fish stocks and ecosystem management. Trudeau also encouraged Tootoo to “meet the commitments that were made for new Coast Guard vessels as part of the National Shipbuilding and Procurement Strategy,” and to work with ministers of transport, environment and science, “to examine the implications of climate change on Arctic marine ecosystems.” The new Liberal government has already promised to restore funding to the federal ocean science and monitoring programs to better track pollution and fish stocks. (PHOTO BY THOMAS ROHNER)