Police in Inuvik say they are working on "any and all leads" with ground searches for missing Lance Briere having failed to find him so far.

Nunavut Health Minister John Main added his voice Wednesday to the growing chorus of Inuit and Nunavut leaders calling on the federal government to clarify the future of the Inuit Child First Initiative.

In the legislative assembly Wednesday, Main said health and nutrition programs supported by the program are having “a huge, positive impact” on Inuit families and called for the government to clarify whether it will be extended.

“Many families and organizations have questions regarding Indigenous Services Canada’s path forward for the initiative,” he said.

The Inuit Child First Initiative is funded by Indigenous Services Canada. It’s intended to help Inuit children and youth access government-funded health, social and educational services.

One of the most familiar programs to Nunavummiut is a food voucher program that gives families up to $500 a month for each child under 18, and an additional $250 for each child under 4, to help them buy groceries.

Funding is set to expire March 31, the end of the government’s fiscal year. Federal leaders have said no decision to extend the program can be made until March 24, when Parliament resumes.

Main said people want to know whether the Inuit Child First Initiative will continue and if there will be changes to administration or eligibility requirements for the program.

“As minister, I have posed these questions to Indigenous Services Canada but have yet to receive a response,” Main said.

Two MLAs also spoke against the potential loss of the program Wednesday in the legislative assembly.

Uqqummiut MLA Mary Killiktee said school attendance has improved and vandalism is down, which she credited to the funding families have received through the initiative.

She thanked the federal government for the funding, but said mothers have told her they are concerned about the program ending.

Families in Iqaluit are also concerned, said Adam Arreak Lightstone, the MLA for Iqaluit-Manirajak.

He said he was “putting the Premier on notice” and will ask Premier P.J. Akeeagok directly what work he personally has done to advocate for the Inuit Child First Initiative.

Last week, Natan Obed, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization, wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on the federal government to extend funding for the Inuit Child First Initiative.

“We are alarmed by the growing likelihood of an abrupt curtailing of funding for [Inuit Child First Initiative] and the consequences this will have for our families and communities,” Obed said.

He called on the government to take “urgent action,” in his Feb. 12 letter.

“It is unacceptable that the ability of Inuit families and children to enjoy basic human rights remains contingent on a volatile federal budgetary process,” Obed said.

The government has ignored Obed’s concerns as well as those from leaders across Nunavut on the issue, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout said in a letter Monday to Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu.

“Your silence is unacceptable,” Idlout wrote.

The cash award that comes with winning an Arctic Inspiration Prize allows northern organizations to make a real impact in their communities, past winners say.

They detailed a list of achievements, from starting mental health and wellness programs to teaching literacy and expanding their programs across the North, during a panel discussion Feb. 20 at the Aqsarniit Trade Show and Conference in Ottawa.

“These prizes gave our organization flexibility to learn, do things in ways that are comfortable for us and the people that we serve, and allowed us to think outside the box,” said Halla Kaludjak, representing Ilitaqsiniq, also known as the Nunavut Literacy Council, which won the $1-million prize in 2022 for its Pilimmaksaijuliriniq Project.

The Arctic Inspiration Prize is a charitable trust that provides seed money to help community-based northern groups grow. It bills itself as the largest annual prize in Canada.

Each year since 2012, it has offered a million-dollar grand prize, up to four $500,000 prizes in different categories, and a $100,000 youth prize.

Ilitaqsiniq’s Pilimmaksaijuliriniq Project is an Inuit-designed and Inuit-led initiative developed in response to national Inuit mental wellness strategies.

The council hosted six three-day Inuit Wellness Summits using the AIP money from October 2023 to March 2024 in Inuvik, Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit, Kuujjuaq and Nain, N.L.

These summits brought together front-line community workers and elders to share and learn about wellness from an Inuit perspective.

“We heard from the participants in these isolated communities that the workshops allowed them to create networks,” Kaludjak said.

Ilitaqsiniq also received $300,000 in 2012, in the inaugural year of the AIP, for its work embedding literacy into high-quality, culturally based programming, according to the award’s website. Kaludjak said Ilitaqsiniq credits the 2012 prize for shaping the organization.

Joshua Stribbell also represented Ampere on the panel. The organization, formerly known as Pinnguaq, supports development of education based on science, technology, engineering, arts and math, and in 2016 was awarded a $400,000 AIP prize for its program called Te(a)ch.

“Ryan Oliver, our CEO, often cites the Arctic Inspiration Prize as the moment we became a legitimate company,” said Stribbell, head of strategic partnerships at Ampere.

Ampere used the money to expand in 2016 to Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet and Iqaluit before eventually building the Iqaluit Makerspace centre in September 2018.

Stribbell said he hopes more funders will develop trust-based philanthropy similar to the approach taken by the Arctic Inspiration Prize.

Arctic Inspiration Prize Charitable Trust board members Andy Moorhouse and Harry Flaherty led the panel discussion, which also included Veronica Flowers, co-lead for the Inotsiavik Centre in Nunatsiavut.

Flaherty, the AIP’s regional and national selection committee member, said the award’s selection committees comprise northerners who understand regional priorities.

“The Arctic Inspiration Prize’s selection process helps us be sure that winning projects are new, relevant, and meet the needs and objectives of the communities they serve,” he said.

Moorhouse, the award’s vice-chair, noted the role southern funding support plays in sustaining the annual contest and its initiatives.

“We’ve awarded more than $25 million since it started, which has brought a total of more than $54 million to the Canadian Arctic with many of our youth and community projects that received the funds,” Moorhouse said.

The 2025 Arctic Inspiration Prize ceremony is scheduled for May 13 at the Rogers Centre Ottawa.

Three MLAs propose an independent caucus where members could vote together. What could that change? We examined the 20th Assembly's voting record so far.

The Dehcho MLA raised the "striking difference" between Yellowknife's economic outlook and that of smaller communities as MLAs examined the NWT's draft budget.

Deninu Kųę́ First Nation says an interpretation of NWT legislation is affecting efforts to repatriate children who never returned home from residential school.

Years after an old thrift store shut down, Inuvik is preparing to open a new one and revive a program that helps people back into the workforce.

An attempt to cut $5.25 million from the GNWT's education budget, linked to Aurora College's closure of community learning centres, was defeated in a 9-8 vote.

Ownership of Fort Smith's Northern Life Museum and Cultural Centre could soon transfer to the local governments who make up the Thebacha Leadership Council.

A long-awaited apology will be given by the federal government on Thursday, to Inuit families affected by the Dundas Harbour relocations in Nunavut nearly a century ago.

Residents of the Sahtu are raising concerns about the impact of fire retardant and are asking the N.W.T. government for more information about how it contributes to changes in the region’s land and water.

Some N.W.T. MLAs say they've heard concerns from constituents about the territory's new Mineral Resources Act, which is expected to come into effect in 2027.

Yellowknife's tourist accommodation tax starts on April 1. The city, which needs operators from hotels to Airbnb hosts to comply, has begun issuing reminders.

Former Nihtat Energy president Grant Sullivan is asking the judge to order the Nihtat Corporation to honour a shareholder agreement that gives him the right to purchase shares in Nihtat Energy.

Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre professional services director Nathalie Boulanger says the new plane is a game changer for medical evacuations in Nunavik. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre unveiled its new plane Wednesday, engineered to medevac patients from the seven Ungava communities and that will be available at all times with a dedicated medical team.

“It is not just an upgrade, it is a game changer,” said Nathalie Boulanger, the centre’s professional services director, in a speech during a ceremony at the Kuujjuaq airport hangar.

She has worked in Nunavik for 30 years and said that “back then, medical evacuations felt more like extreme sports than organized health care.”

She has wanted this sort of plane for nearly 15 years.

“There will be a huge enhancement of safety for staff and patients,” Boulanger said.

Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre director Larry Watt unveils the new medevac plane to community members, and Makivvik executives. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

Previously, smaller King Air or Otter passenger planes not designed to provide medical service were used to transport patients in and out of Ungava.

The new plane, a Dash-8 100, was engineered to have features that aid medevacs in Nunavik.

Its side cargo door is modified to have a built-in platform that’s at the same height as the stretchers. That makes it safer for health-care workers to avoid back injuries while putting loading a patient into the plane.

Previously, that work involved walking up or down the passenger plane’s steps and squeezing the stretcher inside.

Air Inuit executive chairperson Noah Tayara says this plane will save many lives. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

An incubator for newborn babies is also included in the new plane. Before, the incubator had to be partially disassembled to fit through the door of the passenger plane.

Boulanger said this new plane could save 30 minutes because of that feature alone.

All medical supplies are anchored to the plane, with access to storage for medical equipment, and the plane is heated at all times.

Its interior can also be adapted to the needs of the operation. There are two stretchers, which can be adapted to three, and up to 14 people can be seated.

“We are going from the stone age to the age of electricity,” Boulanger added in a French interview after her speech.

There were 917 medical evacuations by air in one year for 2023-24 on the Ungava coast, for the more than 7,000 residents in the seven villages, A news release issued Wednesday by Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre said.

The plane’s cargo door is modified to accommodate stretchers and incubators. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

Boulanger said that in extreme cases, health officials can call in a second plane to assist with a medevac.

If the Hudson coast is in need of an urgent medevac, the new Dash-8 100 will have the capacity to go and complete it, health centre director Larry Watt said.

“It is a very autonomous aircraft, it does not need a generator or a heater, it is versatile for public health,” he said in an interview.

The plane has been in testing for the past couple of weeks and already completed a medevac of several people who had suffered carbon monoxide poisoning.

“A real workhorse,” Watt called the plane.

Its acquisition is the result of a deal between health centre, the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, and Air Inuit. Funding for the plane’s use, which is $8 million per year for 10 years, came from the health board, Watt said.

Noah Tayara, Air Inuit’s executive chairperson, said that with the right winds this plane can go from Salluit to Montreal without a fuel stop.

The Dash-8 100 comes from Italy. It was purchased used but has only 26,000 hours of flight time already on it. It took a team of engineers one year to modify it for medevacs.

“Anything that we modify has to be approved by Transport Canada,” Tayara said in an interview.

With the new plane, “the sky is the limit” said Tayara. “Because Nunavik is growing, maybe the Hudson coast will need one, maybe Tulattavik will need another.”

The interior of the modified plane includes space for multiple stretchers and for medical workers (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

Yukon placer miner Riley Gibson said he's been waiting almost a year for his mining licence to get renewed. He said if it doesn't happen soon, he may have to find work elsewhere this summer.

An Igloolik teen who went missing Saturday has died, it was confirmed in the legislative assembly Wednesday.

A statement from the family of 19-year-old Shawn Kukkik was read out by Aggu MLA Joanna Quassa. In it, the family thanked MLAs for thinking of them during a difficult time in their lives.

Quassa’s riding includes Igloolik and she is Kukkik’s aunt.

Kukkik was last seen walking behind the high school and up the hill toward the hamlet’s inuksuk. The Canadian Rangers joined the search for him on Monday.

The circumstances of his death have not been released.

Amittuq MLA Joelie Kaernerk also spoke about Kukkik’s death in the assembly. He offered his condolences to the family and appreciation to those who helped with the search.

“I know it’s a very difficult situation, especially in the community where this kind of situation occurs,” he said of mental health struggles endured by some people, including Kukkik.

“It has an impact on our lives, especially when it has to do with mental health issues.” he said.

The N.W.T. education department will meet with federal Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu about how sweeping changes to Jordan's Principle funding will affect N.W.T. which relies on the fund to pay more than 60 per cent of the territory's educational assistants.

Operations at Rankin Inlet Airport returned to normal after a twin-engine plane made an emergency landing there Tuesday when its landing gear failed to deploy.

The pilot of a Beechcraft King Air 200 plane discovered a problem with the nose landing gear while preparing to land, said Chris Krepski, a spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, in an email to Nunatsiaq News on Wednesday.

That forced the pilot to take extra measures to land safely at 8:14 p.m., he said.

None of the eight people on board, including the crew, were injured, but the plane sustained damage to its nose, propellers and engines, Krepski said.

Rankin Inlet emergency responders were alerted and were already at the airport when the plane landed, a news release issued by the Government of Nunavut said.

The Air Nunavut plane was flying to Rankin Inlet from Baker Lake, Lindsay Cadenhead, the airline’s director of flight operations, confirmed in a phone call.

Before landing, it circled the airport for about 45 minutes to burn off fuel and to avoid interfering with other aircraft at the airport.

“The flight crew did a fantastic job under the circumstances,” Cadenhead said, adding the cause of the incident is being investigated by Air Nunavut.

“Our position right now is that it’s a mechanical issue that was outside of the means of crew.”

The plane’s crew as well as the hamlet’s emergency services workers were recognized Wednesday in the legislative assembly by Rankin Inlet South MLA Lorne Kusugak.

“I’d like to thank the fire department and emergency crew in Rankin,” he said. “Everyone was prepared for the incident.”

A proposed shuttle bus service in Iqaluit is one step closer to launching after city council approved its request for a livery licence.

IQ Transit, a venture announced last year by Nunavut Marketing owner Jacinto Marques, now awaits approval from city administration.

That review is set to take place over the next two weeks, said Geoff Byrne, the city’s economic development officer.

“Many residents, especially those with mobility challenges, have expressed interest in a transport solution that improves their access to essential services and activities,” said Steve Allen, Iqaluit’s chief municipal enforcement officer, during Tuesday’s council meeting.

“The application is supported by our department.”

Councillors echoed their support as well.

“I’m happy that there’s the potential of [an] alternate form of transportation for people to get around,” said Coun. Romeyn Stevenson, noting many residents rely on taxis as a form of public transportation.

IQ Transit is planning a 21-stop route, extending from the airport to Abe Okpik Community Hall in Apex, with stops across most of the city’s neighbourhoods and in front of landmarks such as NorthMart, Arctic Winter Games Arena and Qikiqtani General Hospital.

The entire route takes about 45 minutes to drive, Marques told city councillors.

In his livery licence application, fares are listed as $5 for riders ages 11 to 54, $4 for riders 55 and older, and free for kids 10 and under. IQ Transit also plans to sell monthly unlimited rides passes for $189.

Operating hours would be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, and no service on Sundays. The bus will be wheelchair-accessible and have security staff on board.

Over the past few weeks, IQ Transit’s one bus has been parked in a lot near the CBC building. It was moved there after Noble House, where Nunavut Marketing was based, was destroyed by fire.

IQ Transit may acquire a second bus this summer, Marques said.

Steve England, Iqaluit’s chief administrative officer, told council the city will work with Marques to establish bus stop signage.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Marques thanked councillors for their support. He said doesn’t have a launch date planned but expects to meet with city staff to finalize the licence details.

“I’m excited to give this service to the community,” Marques said.

“I think as this community’s growing, it’s going to benefit a lot of people in a lot of ways.”

Two Nunavut MLAs asked questions about the revitalization of Inuktut dialects at the territory’s Legislative Assembly this week. 

Akausigiarvik Road, which means “to feel better road,” will be the name of the street that leads to Aqqusariaq, Nunavut’s new addictions recovery centre which is under construction in Iqaluit.

City councillors voted in favour of the name Tuesday night. The city’s planning department proposed it after consulting elders.

“By selecting a name that resonates with the centre’s purpose, it strengthens a sense of unity and intention behind both the road and the recovery centre,” said Maiya Twerdin, the city’s planning clerk, in a presentation to council.

“The decision to have an Inuktitut street name is a clear demonstration of the city’s commitment to preserving and promoting Inuktitut, particularly in spaces that will be a positive healing space for Nunavummiut.”

The city began looking for a name for the new street in April last year, with several options including those of famous Nunavut leaders such as Paul Quassa, Paul Okalik and Tagak Curley.

One of the top suggestions at the time was Saagiatuq Road in honour of Nash Sagiatook, the elder who picked Aqqusariaq as the official name of the new recovery centre. Sukaliareaq Road, meaning “the way to Suka,” was also one of the city’s suggestions.

In the fall, the City of Iqaluit, through its planning and development website, opened a forum online for residents to submit name suggestions.

Road to Somewhere was a popular suggestion, complimenting the nearby Road to Nowhere. Other names, submitted anonymously, drew upon other famous Inuit and characters from legends.

Even Roady McRoadface — a nod to an internet joke about people uniting to name a British research vessel Boaty McBoatface — drew several thumbs up.

After rounding down suggestions, city planning staff met with elders at the Elders’ Qammaq, where they came to the decision they presented to council.

“Let’s let them make recommendations on all future roads before it even comes to council,” Coun. Kyle Sheppard said, calling elder consultation “a good way of involving elders in our community.”

Deputy Mayor Kim Smith called it a “wonderful name,” and echoed Sheppard’s sentiment of consulting with elders on street names.

Smith also shared her appreciation for the residents who chimed in more comical name ideas.

“One thing I will always support is the right to be silly,” she said.

“It would never be for this road, but I would love if, one day, we found a backstreet somewhere that really didn’t matter that we could name Streety McStreetface.”

The five councillors who were present voted unanimously in support of the name.

Meanwhile, the Government of Nunavut is working to complete construction of Aqqusariaq this coming fiscal year, according to 2025-26 budget documents.

Seven Nunavik communities are expected to receive new fire trucks, and several fire halls will be renovated this year, Kativik Regional Government’s civil security department announced Monday.

Kuujjuaq, Tasiujaq, Aupaluk, Kangirsuk, Kangiqsujuaq, Quaqtaq and Akulivik will receive the new trucks by sealift at various times throughout 2025, Craig Lingard, civil security director for KRG, told council members.

He said that for the communities that are not receiving new trucks, it is because their fire halls need to be renovated first.

“Communities that still have to have their fire hall renovated need an extension big enough for the new trucks,” Lingard said, adding renovations are scheduled and additional funding needs to be secured.

Renovations were already carried out last year at fire halls in Puvirnituq, Inukjuak, Aupaluk, Akulivik, Kangirsuk, Tasiujuaq, Quaqtaq and Kangiqsujuaq.

Lingard said contracts have been awarded to renovate the Salluit fire hall, with extensive work beginning in the spring and completion expected in the fall.

“We need to get our fire halls up to a standard that is acceptable everywhere,” he said, adding there should be a minimum of two bays per hall plus training and office space, storage and appropriate heating.

Kuujjuaq’s hall is one that needs to be renovated, but the project has been on hold for several years.

“In order to proceed with that file, there has to be a consensus between Kuujjuaq’s landholding [corporation] and the municipality,” Lingard said.

“Unfortunately, we have not been able to secure that consensus for some time, which has delayed the project.”

Funding to either renovate the hall or build a new one has been identified, but “will probably have to be increased because of the delays,” he added.

Lingard said Kuujjuaq would be a priority if the municipality and landholding corporation can come to an agreement.

Renovating Kuujjuaq’s fire hall, has been delayed due to a lack of consensus reached by the landholding corporation and the municipality, says KRG. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

After multiple delays over the past decade, the opening date for the $114.6-million Nanisivik Naval Facility near Arctic Bay remains unknown.

The project was first announced in 2007 by then-prime minister Stephen Harper as a way to “significantly strengthen Canada’s sovereignty over the Arctic.”

For about one month per year, the facility will operate as a docking and refuelling hub for government vessels in the Arctic.

The plan was originally to start operations in 2015, but construction delays moved that target to 2018. Then it was expected to open in 2025, according to the auditor general’s report on Arctic Waters Surveillance from 2023.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper, left, and Gordon O’Connor, the then-minister of national defence, visit the site of what will become the Nanisivik Naval Facility on Aug. 10, 2007. (File photo)

Now, the project doesn’t have an estimated completion date.

The Department of National Defence is “finalizing the work plan for the site,” said Kened Sadiku, spokesperson for the department, in an email to Nunatsiaq News.

He said the delay in Nanisivik’s operations hasn’t impacted the Royal Canadian Navy’s capability in the Arctic as there are “other options available to fuel [navy] vessels and the Arctic and offshore patrol vessels have excellent range and endurance.”

The Nanisivik facility is to be built on the site of the now-demolished mining town of Nanisivik, 20 kilometres from Arctic Bay.

The Department of National Defence has spent $107.6 million to develop the facility so far, with the final cost expected to reach $114.6 million, Sadiku said.

In addition to the deepwater port, Nanisivik will include a jetty, or small pier, where boats can be moored; fuel storage tanks for ships and helicopters; a site office; a wharf operator’s shelter; a storage building; and a helicopter landing pad.

Construction was delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and bad weather conditions that in 2021 washed out the main road connecting the facility to Arctic Bay, Sadiku said.

The latest delay coincides with Canada’s renewed interest in the Arctic for defence and sovereignty.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announces his Arctic sovereignty strategy Feb. 10 at the Iqaluit airport. (File photo by Arty Sarkisian)

During a Feb. 10 news conference in Iqaluit, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre cited Nanisivik as part of his party’s long-time Arctic defence plan.

He also promised to build a permanent military base in Iqaluit that would be completed within two years if he becomes prime minister.

In Iqaluit, Poilievre didn’t respond when asked whether he thought the proposed Iqaluit base could face similar troubles as Nanisivik.

The federal Liberal government released its new Arctic foreign policy in December that included increased spending to protect northern sovereignty. And in April 2024, it released its $81-billion Arctic defence policy that declared protecting Arctic sovereignty to be the “most urgent and important task.”

Under those policies, commitments over the next 20 years include $1.4 billion for specialized maritime sensors and $218 million for northern operational support hubs consisting of airstrips, logistics facilities and equipment stockpiles.

The National Defence department will have more updates on those policies and on the status of Nanisivik “in due course,” Sadiku said.

How is EIC, the company buying Canadian North, going to approach running the airline? We asked EIC's president to set out what northerners should expect.

"This has never been done anywhere this far north." A three-year project to plant at least a million trees on Tłı̨chǫ land is about to enter a key stage.

An NWT Territorial Court judge found that the mandatory minimum sentence for a child sexual abuse material charge is "cruel and unusual."

The Sahtu MLA said poor conditions along areas of the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road are extending turnaround times for the delivery of essential goods.

"This isn't panic mode." Hay River's youth centre will close in March over a lack of funding but expects to return in April with a plan for "long-term success."

Jeremy Charney was given time served with credit for 144 days in custody after pleading guilty to assault and possessing a restricted firearm without a licence.

The estimated cost of replacing a key piece of infrastructure the city of Yellowknife relies on for drinking water has nearly doubled in the span of a year.

The City of Yellowknife said its fire division had determined a fire on Dusseault Court early on Tuesday morning was accidental. Nobody was reported hurt.

Testimony in the trial of a former Coral Harbour teacher accused of assaulting a student came to a close Tuesday.

Michelle Wolf, 46, who taught at Sakku School in Coral Harbour, is charged with assaulting a pre-teen student on May 5, 2023. Her trial began Tuesday in Coral Harbour.

The student cannot be named due to a court-ordered publication ban.

On Tuesday, the youth testified he had asked Wolf to go to the bathroom. She agreed but then grabbed him by his hoodie “for a minute,” hurting his neck.

He described the pain level as a five on a scale of one to 10.

After the incident, he said, he told Wolf he was going to tell the principal and she replied, “Go right ahead.”

Defence lawyer Lisa Jean Helps questioned the youth’s memory of the event.

In her cross-examination, Helps suggested the student had disrupted Wolf’s math class after an older student took his hat. The pair were running around the classroom and on desks, she said.

The youth disagreed, saying he had been playing with friends.

Helps suggested the youth feared getting in trouble for chasing a fellow student and didn’t tell police about the bullying when he reported the incident five months later, in October 2023.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“Her grabbing your hood was a complete surprise? Because there was absolutely no reason for it that you could see?” Helps asked.

“Yeah,” he answered.

Wolf testified she grabbed the youth to stop the classroom disruption.

“Kids in the class were encouraging them, laughing. No one was helping the situation,” she said.

Helps asked Wolf why she grabbed the student.

“I thought they were going to get hurt or they would hurt somebody else,” she said.

Wolf said she didn’t intend to hurt the student but there was no other way to control the classroom.

Wolf said she brought the incident to the attention of the child’s homeroom teacher and vice-principal, and was told no further action was needed.

She said she did not have a good relationship with school administration, in particular the acting principal.

Helps asked if she thought the principal would support her against the student.

“Absolutely not,” Wolf replied.

Wolf left the school in June 2023. The next month, she filed a harassment complaint with the Government of Nunavut over treatment she said she received from the principal.

Helps noted that when the police report was filed in October, the principal’s partner and the student’s mother went to the police station with him.

Earlier, the youth testified that both the principal and her partner had told him they did not like Wolf.

Wolf had been a teacher for 22 years, but had been at the school for seven months when the incident occurred.

Under questioning by Crown prosecutor Romy Leclerc, Wolf agreed grabbing the boy’s hoodie had hurt him.

“Even two years later, you still don’t see any other way to have [dealt] with the situation? There was no other way to stop the [student] then by pulling his hoodie?” Leclerc asked

“No,” Wolf replied.

Both lawyers agreed many of the events described by the youth and Wolf matched.

However, while the defence claimed the student was grabbed after he disrupted Wolf’s class, the Crown suggested it was a separate incident that happened in the afternoon.

“At the end of the day, this is about a teacher, unsupported by the administration and dealing with a difficult situation,” Helps said in her closing argument.

The roughhousing put other students at risk and “unfortunately, Ms. Wolf did as much as she could to control the situation, including calling for help that didn’t come.”

Leclerc said, “We have in front of us two different versions of what happened that day.”

She maintained the student had been consistent in his testimony and did not agree with the defence’s contention that the incident happened in the morning.

Wolf agreed she pulled the hoodie and that it hurt the child, Leclerc said.

Leclerc, however, did not agree with Wolf’s contention that it was the only way to deal with the situation.

“She was a teacher for 22 years. Fights among children do happen on multiple occasions. There were other ways of dealing with the situation,” Leclerc said.

Justice Mia Manocchio is scheduled to deliver her verdict March 17 in court in Iqaluit.