Kabelo Mokoena

U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods is another example of America’s economic bullying.

As a sovereign nation, Canada must respond with strength, not weak diplomacy. Our leaders have failed to assert economic independence, settling for the role of a supplier of raw materials while importing finished goods at inflated prices. This cycle of dependency must end.

Canada must revisit the North American Free Trade Agreement and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which have disproportionately benefited the U.S.

If tariffs are weaponized against us, we must reassess these deals and consider alternatives that serve our interests. Trade agreements should reflect fair partnerships, not Washington’s dictates.

For decades, Canadian governments have neglected domestic manufacturing, opting instead to export raw materials while importing finished products at high prices. This failure of vision and leadership has stifled innovation and economic growth.

A prime example is our acceptance of subpar American dairy products, particularly processed “cheese” that barely qualifies as cheese.

Canada must ban low-quality U.S. dairy imports to protect our farmers and ensure consumers get genuine, high-quality products. Canada should halt raw material exports and prioritize domestic manufacturing.

Rather than shipping lumber, minerals, and energy resources abroad, we should refine, process, and manufacture them into finished products. This approach would create jobs, drive innovation, and reduce reliance on volatile markets.

For too long, Canada has depended on U.S. automobile manufacturers. It’s time to introduce a domestically designed and manufactured vehicle that meets high standards of quality and sustainability. This would create jobs and establish Canada as a global competitor.

To protect our auto industry, we must impose tariffs on U.S.-manufactured vehicles. If America embraces economic protectionism, Canada must respond in kind.

It’s time for young people to engage in politics and policymaking. I call on a younger generation of Canadians to forge a movement that secures our future.

Current political parties benefit only a few players tied to lobbying and investments. We must abandon outdated political structures and unite across all lines to send innovative minds into leadership at all levels.

This is a call for the renewal of Canada’s political and economic landscape. Our future depends on fresh perspectives and engaged citizens. This is a call to action.

Canada must stop playing America’s junior partner. Our leaders must stop compromising and start leading.

Strong retaliatory measures against unfair U.S. tariffs are not just a response, they are a necessity.

Canada has the talent, resources and innovation to thrive independently. It’s time we acted like it.

Kabelo Mokoena is the president of the African Caribbean Association of Nunavut.

Six modular housing units arrived in Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., in the past few weeks, with three just last week. They're the first new homes the community has seen in years.

Yukon Energy is in the process of relicensing the legacy facility for five years. Built in the 1950s, the dam has since then obstructed the upriver migration of fish, including chinook salmon, whose numbers long declined. The fish aren’t found above the facility anymore.

The federal government is investing $1.9 million to help the NWT move people away from smoking by building treatment into routine care.

Yukon Finance Minister Sandy Silver says the territory wants certainty as leading candidates in federal Liberal leadership race, as well as leaders of the federal Conservative Party and NDP, all promise to scrap, freeze or significantly change the program.

Nunavut will receive $7.6 million in federal funding over three years as part of the National School Food Policy to enhance its school food programming.

“We know that children learn better when they have a full belly, right guys?” Minister of Families, Children and Social Development of Canada Jenna Sudds said addressing about 25 students at the Nanook Elementary School in Apex on Friday.

Minister of Families, Children and Social Development of Canada Jenna Sudds announcing $7.6 million in federal funding for school food program in Nunavut at Nanook school in Apex on Friday . (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)

Sudds announced the new funds at the school at an event hosted by a Grade 5 student Braelyn Lewis and Grade 4 student Alec Nichol.

Nunavut already has a school food program that currently serves 11,000 students across the territory. The new funding is intended to help with upgrades to kitchen facilities and the hiring of staff. It will also provide more country food, giving Nunavummiut “foods that nourish children while keeping cultural connections strong,” the announcement says.

The National School Food Policy was released in 2024 with $1 billion budgeted for over five years. It aims to provide up to 400,000 children per year across Canada with access to food at school.

Nunavut  is the latest jurisdiction to sign up for the program after Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

“Providing students access to healthy food in schools can make a huge impact in retention and graduation rates,” said Premier P.J.Akeeagok, one of half a dozen dignitaries at the event.

“We have seen firsthand the importance of breakfast programs in getting our kids to school and the difference it makes when students enter the classroom with full bellies.”

The announcement comes as the Inuit Child First Initiative funding is about to expire at the end of March with some leaders saying it would cause a “humanitarian crisis”  if the program is not extended.

Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok surrounded by Nanook elementary school kids after a funding announcement for a school food program in Iqaluit on Friday. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)

The initiative is a federal program that gives Inuit children access to health and education supports and is similar to Jordan’s Principle for First Nations children.

The school food program is an “important piece” in battling food insecurity at the time of uncertainty with the Inuit Child First Initiative, Sudds said in an interview after the announcement.

“I think today’s announcement and the school food investment is a step in the right direction, we understand that food insecurity particularly in the North is heightened.”

After the event, students had some cake and had the chance to talk to the officials.

The Nunavut government said in a news released Friday that Nunik Care Services' approval to operate a childcare facility was rescinded last month. It said the home had been given 60 days notice of the change, and that it was making sure there were “transition plans” for the children and youth who lived there.

Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai says his government will extend a paid sick leave program that covers many workers who lack benefits, but the Yukon Federation of labour says the measure doesn't go far enough.

Leslie Iain Weatherston filed a notice to the Yukon Court of Appeal this month, alleging the judge at his jury trial last year erred on several fronts and also gave him an unfit sentence.

Yellowknife and Inuvik will be among new military "northern operational support hubs" according to a public discussion among NWT MLAs on Friday.

Smoke that billowed from a boiler room next to the Canada Post office at Astro Hill in Iqaluit around 6 a.m. Friday prompted concern from residents on Facebook, but officials say there was no fire.

The smoke cleared by 7 a.m., and operations in the area continue as normal.

“Since there was no fire, there was nothing for us to extinguish — this was simply an issue with their boiler system,” city spokesperson Geoffrey Byrne said in an email.

There was an earlier, similar smoke incident related to the boiler room Thursday afternoon, Byrne added.

Shivaan Thanabalasingam, a facilities manager at Astro Hill for property owner Nunastar Properties, also confirmed the incident posed no safety risk.

“It was simply a regular part failure, which is a common occurrence in all boilers,” he said in an email.

“Our system is larger, which may lead to more smoke during such occurrences, but again, there is no danger involved.”

Thanabalasingam said the boiler room is fully equipped with a fire suppression system and that the affected boiler has been locked out until repairs are completed. The necessary replacement part has been ordered, he said.

The end of the Inuit Child First Initiative on March 31 would have a severe, immediate impact on thousands of Nunavut children, one advocate says.

Taya Tootoo, who works for the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation, joined Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and Qikiqtani General Hospital pediatrician Dr. Holden Sheffield on Friday to call on the federal government to extend the program’s funding beyond its scheduled March 31 expiry while a long-term solution is in the works.

Inuit Child First Initiative gives Inuit children access to health and education supports. It runs parallel to Jordan’s Principle, which is a federal commitment to provide the same type of support to First Nations children.

Jordan’s Principle was created in 2007 in response to a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal complaint that the federal government was not providing equitable funding for child and family services.

“Outside of it being a funding issue, this is a humanitarian crisis in the making,” Tootoo said of the pending lapse in Inuit Child First funding.

“The federal government has the power to extend ICFI for an interim period while Inuit organizations work with partners to figure out a long-term goal for this issue.”

Children across Nunavut have benefitted not only from the food vouchers the program offers, Tootoo said, hundreds of kids have also been able to access services in the territory which they used to have to travel south for, such as speech therapy.

With ICFI funding, Nunavut health-care workers saw a “night and day” change, Sheffield said.

He described seeing fewer cases of children coming into health centres for “nutrition-related” health issues.

“It’s allowed us to move beyond a constant flood of preventable health issues and instead focus on complex care that’s allowed us to elevate pediatric excellence in the North,” he said.

“We must protect the progress we’ve made so far and ensure that children in Nunavut get the support they deserve.”

Idlout said she continues to pressure the federal government to extend the Inuit Child First Initiative. Her calls have been joined by other northern leaders, including MLAs and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed.

Idlout said she’s not hearing from Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, whose department is responsible for the program.

“We need to keep demanding responses from her to at least let us know if she will indeed extend the program or if she will create a new program,” Idlout said.

“From my contacts with all the hamlets in Nunavut, we’ve learned, for example, that the program has helped over 15,000 Inuit children.”

Hajdu is working with Inuit partners on a long-term solution, said Jennifer Kozelj, the minister’s press secretary, in an email to Nunatsiaq News.

However, more funding for the program needs to be approved by Parliament, which is set to reconvene March 24.

“We share the widespread concern that Inuit CFI and other essential initiatives could end due to the Conservatives’ and NDP’s blocking of the necessary funding through the House of Commons,” Kozelj said.

The Arctic Child and Youth Foundation has also stepped up its efforts to advocate for an extension through an online petition, calling on Hajdu and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take action. That petition is at truenorthleftbehind.ca.

“We can’t forget about the children in the North,” Tootoo said.

“We need to be working with [policy] makers to ensure that programs that should be taken on by the GN and other entities are taken on so that ICFI isn’t the end-all, be-all subsidy for everything in the territory.”

Resurfacing and stabilization work scheduled for Puvirnituq airport’s runway will go ahead this summer, Quebec’s Transportation Ministry has confirmed in a notice to airport users.

The work will be done in several phases, the Feb. 21 notice said, though the time each phase will require hasn’t been determined yet. The airport will remain open while renovations are underway, and work set for July and August is expected to have the biggest impact on airport services.

The renovations were previously scheduled to be done last summer but were postponed due to a need for more gravel testing. The total cost is estimated at $25 million to $50 million.

The work is part of a $90-million commitment from the Quebec government for Nunavik airports announced in April 2024.

Three other projects are also expected to be underway this summer, said Akin Akindele, Kativik Regional Government’s transportation director, Thursday during Kativik Regional Government’s council meeting.

The Salluit airport is expected to have parts of its fence replaced and receive repairs for the culverts under the runway.

Quaqtaq’s airport might also have runway resurfacing work done with guardrails installed on its access road.

Aupaluk is also expecting resurfacing at its airport as well as repairs to fence sections, additional precision approach path indicators, a new runway exit sign and repairs to the transit house.

Akindele said those projects still need to be confirmed by the Transportation Ministry.

He also announced that terms of reference to develop a master plan for Kuujjuaq’s airport are completed. A tender will be issued by the end of summer to hire a consultant to complete this work.

The Transportation Ministry said additional information on the airport work will be available this spring.

Burgundy, the owner of the Ekati diamond mine, sent the NWT's premier a letter in September demanding more government support. Did anything end up changing?

A regulator has decided how much Hay River residents will pay for their power in the immediate aftermath of March 1's franchise switch.

The North West Company could face a class action lawsuit related to its use of Nutrition North funding. Separately, the federal program is being reviewed.

A gathering in Yellowknife on Friday evening is designed to spark interest in proportional representation ahead of the forthcoming federal election.

A "twisted and reimagined" accordion and clarinet performance takes place in Yellowknife on Friday night. Meet the people behind the show.

Residents of Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith and Ulukhaktok were recognized for their community impact during a ceremony at the NWT's legislature.

The Tłı̨chǫ Friendship Centre will receive nearly $2 million to provide coaching and support to people who are on an addiction recovery journey.

In a split decision issued this month, the Yukon Court of Appeal ruled that the judge who originally heard Darryl Sheepway’s case failed to properly consider the “harsh conditions” he faced at the Whitehorse jail when determining his parole ineligibility period.

Last year, there were 300 positions open for the nominee program. This year, due to federal cuts, there will be 150 positions open. Sixty of the new application spots will be filled with 2024 applications that came in before the changes to the rules, which leaves 90 openings for 2025.

Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely said that the rising cost of living is Norman Wells means some are leaving the community and others are living in fear. MLAs passed a motion on Thursday calling on the territory to declare a state of emergency there.

Some Nunavut MLAs are wondering why a fleet of elder mobility vans, promised several months ago to five communities by the premier, are not yet in use.

The Hamlet of Tsiigehtchic advised residents to "go safely" to their homes as it addresses an alleged threat with RCMP. The nature of the incident isn't clear.

A free screening in Iqaluit of Sarafina!, a 1992 musical drama about the courageous efforts of South African students during the 1976 Soweto uprising in South Africa, is being hosted Friday by the African and Caribbean Association of Nunavut.

The film, starring Whoopi Goldberg, will be shown at 3:30 p.m. at the Astro Hill Theatre.

The event is being held in collaboration with Inuksuk High School’s committee organizing an educational tour called From North to South: Exploring South Africa.

The committee is fundraising for 30 students to participate in a trip to South Africa scheduled for April 8 to 23.

The trip is designed to foster understanding of South Africa’s history and the pivotal role young people played in transforming society under apartheid and its aftermath, Kabelo Mokoena, the association’s president, said in an email to Nunatsiaq News.

February is Black History Month.

A longtime phys-ed teacher in Nunavik has been charged with several sex-related offences involving a minor and is scheduled to appear in court next week.

Nicolas Cyr, who has been a physical education teacher at Jaanimmarik Secondary School and a Kuujjuaq resident for 14 years, was arrested and investigators are asking other potential victims or witnesses to come forward, the Nunavik Police Service announced Thursday.

Cyr, 36, is charged with sexual assault of a minor, sexual interference of a minor, and assault, according to a document from Quebec’s Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.

The events are alleged to have happened between Jan. 19, 2018, and Dec. 20, 2024. All charges relate to the same alleged victim, who is under the age of 16.

Nunavik police are asking anyone with information on the alleged incidents to contact Sgt. Investigator Isabelle Sauvé, or the service’s integrated investigative unit at 819-964-2400. Information can be shared anonymously and confidentially.

Cyr’s next scheduled court date is March 4 at the Kuujjuaq courthouse, Nunavik Police Service deputy Chief Jean-François Morin said.

Jade Bernier, a spokesperson for Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, said in an email to Nunatsiaq News that “in this situation, our priority is the well-being of students.”

She said resources were mobilized quickly Thursday morning “to provide support to students and staff.”

Bernier confirmed Cyr was suspended as soon as the school board was made aware of the allegations in November and that he is suspended without pay until his trial is completed.

There are 378 students at the Jaanimmarik school from Grade 4 through to secondary five.

The NWT Nominee Program reopened with fresh guidelines and a lower intake on Thursday. The minister responsible has faced questions about the program's future.

Queer Yukon Society signed its first-ever collective agreement on February 14. The vice president of the Yukon Employees Union says it's an agreement "for queer people, by queer people."

The NWT's finance minister asked the speaker to intervene over a Kieron Testart Facebook post that the premier said was part of a "campaign of intimidation."

Acknowledging the harm caused by relocating 52 people from Kinngait to Dundas Harbour more than 80 years ago is a way to “rebuild” the relationship and trust between Inuit and the federal government, says Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree.

The Liberal cabinet minister travelled to Arctic Bay from Ottawa on Thursday to apologize for the forced relocations of what he described as four “extended families” between 1934 and 1948.

They were forced to move about 1,200 kilometres to the south shore of Devon Island, north of Baffin Island, to what the federal government today describes as “unfamiliar and unforgiving lands.”

Anandasangaree told a group of elders and survivors at the hamlet’s community centre that their courage, determination, resilience and advocacy led to the government’s apology.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Minister Gary Anandasangaree (File photo)

“You have carried the weight of these relocations, and your perseverance ensures that these stories and experiences are not forgotten,” Anandasangaree’s speaking notes said.

He called it a “very sombre day.”

“It’s ultimately about acknowledging the harm and making sure that those who are survivors and descendants have some closure, but also to rebuild that trust that was lost,” Anandasangaree said Thursday in a phone interview.

The Dundas Harbour settlement was abandoned more than 75 years ago.

The apology came with $4.5 million in federal funding for the Dundas Harbour Relocation Society to help Inuit families affected by the relocations.

Anandasangaree commended Isaac Shooyook — a former MLA, who was a toddler when the relocation occurred — along with descendants of the families that were moved.

Shooyook began in 2010 asking the federal government for an apology.

Isaac Shooyook, former MLA. (File photo)

The Dundas Harbour relocation was one of numerous instances in the 1900s of Inuit being moved from parts of what are now Nunavut and Nunavik to remote areas of the Arctic. The moves were done in the name of asserting Canada’s claim to Arctic sovereignty.

“These forced relocations prioritized Canada’s sovereignty at the expense of Inuit lives, disregarding the well-being of children, youth, and their families,” a government news release issued Thursday said.

Nunavut MP Lori Idlout, who was in Arctic Bay to hear Anandasangaree’s apology, called it “a first small step towards reconciliation.”

Calling the relocations a “genocidal policy,” Idlout said the federal government made promises to the families without any real intent to implement them.

“The pain and suffering of these actions permeates through intergenerational trauma,” said Idlout, who was not available for an interview but provided a written statement responding to the apology.

Anandasangaree also apologized in November to Inuit in Nunavik for the historic slaughter of sled dogs that occurred in the 1950s. The killing of sled dogs was an attempt to separate Inuit from their traditional way of life, which includes using dogsled teams for hunting.

With that apology, the federal government gave $45 million to Makivvik Corp., the Inuit rights-holding organization in Nunavik, to be used for programs that promote healing and cultural revitalization.

Federal funding is part of the Dundas Harbour apology, Anandasangaree said, but he added the two historic episodes are different because the dog slaughter affected a bigger number of people in many different communities.

A second hotel is set to be built on Iqaluit’s Astro Hill after city councillors unanimously approved a development permit for Nunastar Properties Inc.

The 85-room, six-storey building with a basement will occupy an area near the Canada Post office.

“It’s a little bit different of an offering than we have anywhere else on the hill,” Nunastar’s chief operating officer Ben Cox said in an interview.

With a planned mid-2027 completion date, 28 suites are included for visitors planning longer term stays such as rotational workers, Cox said.

“There’s a lot of people that don’t necessarily need an apartment for a full year,” he said.

Designs also include a small restaurant, conference space and new outdoor pedestrian walkways. An outdoor patio is part of the concept, but how that shapes up is to be determined, Cox said.

At Tuesday’s city council meeting, councillors asked about how the hotel would impact emergency vehicle access, traffic and parking.

“We’re not expecting a lot of traffic from the guests staying at the hotel,” said Scott Hanson, Nunastar’s design and development manager, in an interview.

A traffic study concluded that hotel guests at the Frobisher Inn weren’t typically occupying parking spaces unless they were renting a car for their stay, Hanson said.

Astro Hill’s ring road helps emergency vehicles navigate the site, he added. As well, a second gate, separate from the entrance bridge, exists via a private road. It would be closed for regular traffic, but first responders would be able to pass through.

“We’re willing to allow access to emergency vehicles if there was an event where that bridge was shut down,” Hanson said.

Another consideration was regarding ongoing work to upgrade Astro Hill’s water infrastructure.

Hanson said Nunatsar and the city are working together on that.

“[City engineers] know the full extent to which Astro Hill will be developed,” Hanson said.

“The infrastructure is being sized for this new proposed hotel.”

Cox said the plan is to start shipping materials up on this year’s sealift.

With housing developments also going up on the hill this year, Cox added that the hotel is part of Nunatsar’s vision to grow the Astro Hill property.

Cox didn’t provide a price tag, but described this hotel as Nunastar’s “largest” Iqaluit investment.

“We, for probably about 10 years, kind of had a master plan of how we slowly, incrementally will kind of build and densify Astro Hill,” he said.

“We decided to prioritize this one right now just because of the demands of Astro Hill and what we see the community needing.”

A charter plane carrying two pilots and six people landed safely in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Tuesday night after it was forced to make an emergency landing. 

One MLA expressed concern about the state of the airport in Igloolik, while another talked about the need for a longer run way at the airport in Chesterfield Inlet.

A gold watch may be a customary retirement gift, but Chris West left his position as Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce executive director with a King Charles III Coronation Medal.

West’s cumulative 11-year tenure as chamber executive director ended Nov. 12. He stayed with the organization to work with incoming executive director Tony Rose through planning and implementation of the first Aqsarniit Trade Show and Conference in Ottawa, which wrapped up last week.

The King Charles III Coronation Medal recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada. (Photo courtesy of MCpl/Le Cplc Matthieu Racette, Rideau Hall, OSGG-BSGG)

“It was a good first event, very positive for the future,” said West, describing the effort as Inuit-led.

“I can see that event growing to be a number-one event connecting the North. It’s all about Inuit Nunangat.”

The four-day networking and business showcase event was hatched out of a conversation between West and Andy Moorhouse, vice-president of economic development at Makivvik Corp., shortly after the demise of the long-running Northern Lights Trade Show which was permanently cancelled in August.

West cites his efforts to promote and build this new trade show and in growing its predecessor as some of his most meaningful work with the chamber.

West also maintained a steady hand at the wheel throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, helping the Baffin business community navigate through challenging times by providing a resource for accurate information and advocacy.

Providing professional development opportunities to help expand northern businesses big and small, including independent artists, was a big focus as well.

However, West said he’s perhaps most proud of the things he did not do over the years.

“By not spending money that we didn’t have, I feel good about leaving the chamber in the financial situation that it’s in — into the black,” he said.

West moved north in 1996 to work with The North West Company. Five years later, he joined Qikiqtaaluk Corp., where he worked for 13 years.

He was involved with the chamber from day one, first as a board member, then as chair for a couple of terms, before serving as executive director from 2011 to 2017 and again from 2019 to 2024.

West learned he would receive the King Charles III Coronation Medal late last year, in recognition of his work with the chamber.

“It was just such an honour to receive that call and to be nominated,” he said.

“It’s not about me. I was paid to do a job and it’s the chamber that owns it.”

West has joined his wife, Maria West, who had already retired from a 25-year career in human resources with the Government of Nunavut, to share their next chapter as grandparents in Ottawa.

Eleven dog teams and their mushers kicked off the 2025 Ivakkak race in Kangiqsualujjuaq on Wednesday to start their 328-kilometre journey to the finish line in Tasiujaq.

The race was supposed to begin Monday, but weather conditions caused delays. By Wednesday the skies were blue and the racers could enjoy the scenery for about 50 kilometres as they covered the first leg of the race.

They crossed the George River by the end of the day and entered into the Tunulik region where they stopped for the night.

The first team to arrive was Tasiujaq’s Charlie Angnatuk and Zachariah Saunders, who took four hours and 42 minutes to complete the first leg, nearly 30 minutes ahead of their competitors.

Next came Kuujjuaq’s Kyle Aitchison and Joshua May, followed by Aupaluk’s Aloupa Grey Etook and Eric Annahatak, and then Tasiujaq’s second team made up of Willie Cain Jr. and Tamisa Saunders. Those three teams arrived within one minute of each other.

Of the 11 teams that are racing, five are from Tasiujaq, three from Puvirnituq, one from Kangiqsujuaq, one from Aupaluk and one from Kuujjuaq.

They were off again by 10 a.m. Thursday to start the second leg, headed toward the Marralik region 65 kilometres away.

Kuujjuaq Pinguatitsijingiit Inc., the community’s recreation organization, expects the mushers to arrive in Kuujjuaq on Saturday if weather permits. It has planned a feast to be held at the forum, with games and prizes to be handed out for community members.

A couple of more days of racing remain after that before the mushers get to the finish line in Tasiujaq.