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The Government of Nunavut wants to hear opinions from more young people on climate change and how to deal with it.

In the legislative assembly Friday, Environment Minister Daniel Qavvik called for more people between the ages of 16 and 35 to join the GN’s climate change youth advisory committee as it expands.

People in that age group, especially those in the Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions, are needed on the committee, Qavvik said during his minister’s statement Friday morning.

That would give them a chance to offer input on the GN’s climate change programs, advise the government on climate-change issues that are concerning to youth, raise awareness of the issues among young people and participate at climate-change gatherings.

“We seek to maintain a youth advisory committee that represents all the regions of Nunavut,” he said.

He encouraged young people who are interested in joining to go to climatechangenunavut.ca, visit a local government liaison office or get an application at the local high school.

The Northwest Territories says it's the only jurisdiction in Canada with a climate change archaeologist. Here's what that job looks like.

One MLA set out a vision of a Northwest Territories "raking in cold, hard cash" from tourists – if changes are made to its gambling laws.

"You put a coach in the chair. I'm going to coach the way I normally coach." As the new speaker, Shane Thompson is doing things a little differently.

Alyssa Carpenter, founder of Western Arctic Youth Collective, is trying to provide youth with the social, cultural and mental health programming she wishes she'd had when she was younger.

A round-the-clock convenience store is set to open in downtown Yellowknife early next month, with a kitchen serving hot food into the night.

For years, Behchokǫ̀ had no minor hockey program. That has just changed, an exciting moment for a community that feels its recreational horizons expanding.

The N.W.T.'s regular MLAs said Friday that they're disappointed by cabinet voting against a motion to call a public inquiry into last year's wildfire response — and one MLA questioned the premier's intention to collaborate. 

The names we call each other as a group and the names that groups use to refer to themselves make a fascinating study. Technically, such words are called “ethnonyms.”

Inuit is an ethnonym, as is the out-of-fashion Eskimo. But there are other ethnonyms used in the Arctic, and each one has its own fascinating derivation. Some have gone out of fashion; others are still used.

Scottish and English whalers called Inuit Yakkies, or Yacks. It comes from the same word as our modern word “to yack,” meaning to talk incessantly or unintelligibly. A logical description to apply to people whom you didn’t understand.

Whalers also called the Inuit Huskies, a variant of Eskies, which was an abbreviation for Eskimos.

Whalers also referred to the Inuit of Baffin Island as Westlanders because, of course, the Greenlanders were the Eastlanders, these groups being on the west and east coasts, respectively, of the Davis Strait.

Those are the words whalers applied to Inuit. But what did the Inuit call the whalers? Of course, they were known as Qallunaat — white people. And, as a group, they were referred to as Arviqsiuqtiit (also Arvagasuaqtiit or Arvaniaqtiit), those who hunt the bowhead whale.

But in the eastern Canadian Arctic, some of these whalers were Scottish and some were American. And words were needed to differentiate the two.

Inuit simply adopted the word Scotch into Inuktitut to describe the Scottish whalers. They were known then, and remembered today, as Sikaatsi.

The word “American” was less malleable and required some adaptation to fit the sound system of the Inuktitut language. First, the initial vowel was dropped so the word would start with “m.” The “r” in the middle became an “l,” something that happens often when English words are borrowed into Inuktitut. The “c” became a “g,” and so on until the word became Mialigaq in the singular and Mialigait in the plural.

This word is commonly used in south Baffin to describe Americans, because the American presence in Frobisher Bay was so dominant during the Second World War and the post-war years.

It even became incorporated into a place name. Crowell Island, named after Major John Crowell, who was in charge of the Crystal Two site, was named Mialigaqtalik — the place where there are Americans. If it had an earlier Inuktitut name, it has been forgotten, according to elders interviewed by Melanie Gagnon for an Arctic College project.

Once the Americans were no longer there, the name acquired a suffix and became Mialigaqtaliminiq — the place where Americans once lived.

In whaling days, farther west, the word “American” may have been incorporated differently into Inuktitut.

An Inuk born near Repulse Bay who worked closely with Capt. George Comer and his whaling crews in Hudson Bay around the turn of the century was called Maliki (spelled also Meliki or Melichi in whaling literature), although this was not his birth name.

In 1983, his granddaughter, Kanayuk Bruce, told writer Dorothy Eber, “He got the name Meliki because Inuit couldn’t pronounce ‘American.’”

Eventually, Inuit needed a word to describe French speakers. They called them Uiuimiut (oui-oui-miut).

Many of the American whalers were Black men. Inuit called them Puatugi. If you think this word bears a resemblance to the English word Portuguese, you’re right. But why? Portuguese may be darker than northern Europeans, but they are not black. And where would Inuit have come across Portuguese anyway?

The answer is not immediately obvious.

Portugal is of course a country on the European Atlantic coast. Its people are called Portuguese.

The word Portuguese may be an adjective or a noun, and may be singular or plural. But to English speakers, it sounded like a plural and so their natural tendency was to create a singular form, which was Portugee. (Linguists call this a “back formation.”)

This word was not coined as a pejorative term, but over time it acquired a derogatory implication. As a pejorative, it was often used, especially among sailors, to apply to all foreigners.

The Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa had a Black population, and these islands belonged to Portugal. So Cape Verdeans were Portuguese by nationality, but not by ethnicity.

Many Cape Verdeans emigrated to the United States, particularly to the city of New Bedford, Mass., then an affluent community made wealthy because it was the major whaling port on the American Atlantic coast. Many of these transplanted Black Cape Verdeans sailed to Cumberland Sound or to Hudson Bay on American whaling ships.

Whaling captains and the white crew members of their ships referred to the Cape Verdean whalers as Portugee. But because the Cape Verdeans were Black, the other whalers referred to all Black whalers as Portugee, whether they were Cape Verdean or the descendants of Black American slaves.

A few men from the Azores — a group of Atlantic islands belonging to Portugal — may also have been among the American crews, although that has never been proven.

Brass Lopes and Manuel Soares, who were both in Capt. George Comer’s crews in Hudson Bay, were Cape Verdean Black men. Hearing the word Portugee from the whalers, Inuit would naturally make the necessary changes to make it flow mellifluously from their own lips as Puatugi.

The word survived the demise of whaling and is still used today to refer to Black people. It is not a pejorative or a slang term. It is a valid descriptor with an interesting history.

Taissumani is an occasional column that recalls events of historical interest. Kenn Harper is a historian and writer who lived in the Arctic for more than 50 years. He is the author of “Minik: The New York Eskimo” and “Thou Shalt Do No Murder,” among other books. Feedback? Send your comments and questions to ke********@ho*****.com.

As a former player questions the amount of money tied up in handgames, an organizer of the Behchokǫ̀ handgames says cash prizes have helped draw players and crowds to the cultural event.

Numbers of influenza B and RSV cases are steadily increasing in the Beaufort Delta region, the NWT's chief public health officer said on Friday.

The Government of Nunavut is not renewing its contract with the operator of a Chesterfield Inlet group home where the deaths of two young people are under investigation, says Family Services Minister Margaret Nakashuk.

The controversy surrounding Naja Isabelle Home resurfaced at the legislative assembly Friday when Rankin Inlet North-Chesterfield Inlet MLA Alexander Sammurtok questioned Nakashuk for the second day over the issue.

Operated by Pimakslirvik Corp., the Naja Isabelle home provides services to people under 40 with specialized medical needs.

The deaths of two residents, ages 12 and 19, prompted the RCMP, Nunavut coroner and GN to investigate. The deaths occurred in January and last October, respectively.

Their names have not been released.

During Thursday’s proceedings, Sammurtok called on the GN to be transparent about the investigations and asked that residents be patient and not spread rumours while authorities look into the deaths.

On Friday, Sammurtok said he learned the previous day that the GN was not renewing its contract with Pimakslirvik Corp. He asked Nakashuk to confirm whether that was true.

“I have had correspondence with the Pimakslirvik Corp., and we also sent a letter indicating that March 31, 2024 is the end of their deadline, and that we will not be renewing the contract at that time,” Nakashuk responded.

She didn’t offer an explanation for the decision but said the GN is “committed” to it.

Nunatsiaq News sent Casey Lessard, a spokesperson for the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs, questions about the contract with Pimakslirvik Corp. and why it won’t be renewed, and asked for information about possible alternative placements for Naja Isabelle residents.

Lessard had not provided answers as of Friday evening.

As well, Pimakslirvik Corp. has not responded to requests for comment sent by email and phone.

“A number of residents of the community of Chesterfield Inlet are employed at Naja Isabelle home, and their jobs and reputations [are on the] line; they too deserve open and honest communication about the situation,” Sammurtok said in the legislature.

He asked Nakashuk if she would provide a full report at the “earliest possible time.”

“In regards to staff, we will take them into consideration because they have been trained to take care of the clients,” Nakashuk said.

“We will make a report. With the investigation going on, we can’t talk about the subjects at this time.”

Nunavut’s health minister says he will be “left with no choice” but to recommend the territory turn over administration of the federally funded non-insured health benefits program back to the federal government if the program is not fully funded by Ottawa.

Health Minister John Main gave an update Thursday at the legislature on Nunavut’s talks with the federal government for funding of the Non-Insured Health Benefits program.

That program, funded by the federal government and managed by the Government of Nunavut, pays for health-care costs not covered by Nunavut’s own health-care program. They include vision and dental care, mental health counselling, medical supplies and equipment, medications and medical travel.

Funding for the NIHB is the sole responsibility of the federal government, Main said in an interview Friday.

But for months, he has been concerned that the federal government’s funding doesn’t cover all the costs. This year alone, he said, he expects the GN will be forced to subsidize the program by $25 million.

That’s up $4 million from November 2023 when Main said the GN would have to cover a shortfall of approximately $21 million.

For the government’s fiscal year beginning April 1, the program is expected to cost $136 million, with more than half of that expense — $70 million — to be made up of medical travel alone.

Main noted progress had been made but the GN and Indigenous Services Canada, the federal department responsible for funding the NIHB, have been without an agreement since April 2023, he said in the interview.

“The most recent NIHB financing proposal does not meet our need for 100 per cent recovery of medical travel transportation expenses,” Main said during his minister’s statement in the legislature Thursday.

Nunavut is looking for a five-year agreement for Ottawa to fund the non-insured benefits program.

“We are looking for predictability,” Main said.

While other aspects of the program have been fully funded for years, medical travel continues to be a sticking point.

Currently, federal government funding covers about 75 per cent of the benefits program’s medical travel expenses, Main said in an interview.

The federal government wants a cap on the amount of medical travel spending it covers. But Main said the lack of a full funding stream for medical travel “sticks out like a sore thumb.”

Medical travel costs are unpredictable and it is unrealistic to cap that spending, he said.

“We cannot deny [Inuit] medical travel,” he said. “That is the fundamental crux of the issue.”

Nunavummiut “rely heavily” on medical travel and costs have escalated in the past few years, said Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson Jacinthe Goulet in an email Friday.

Negotiations between that department and Nunavut are working to address higher costs with “an understanding that Inuit and First Nations access to insured health services is a shared territorial and federal responsibility,” she said.

On Feb. 7, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout brought up the matter in the House of Commons during question period.

“The Liberals are skirting their responsibility by underfunding [the program]. Their actions are forcing Nunavut to divert funds to this program instead of their own health priorities,” she said, accusing the government of not living up to its responsibilities to Nunavut.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded, saying his government “will continue to be there for the people of Nunavut. We will continue to be there for the people of the North.”

Main echoed Idlout’s concerns, saying the money Nunavut used to cover the federal government’s shortfall could be better spent to “develop, enhance and deliver territorial health-care services for Nunavummiut.”

Main said the GN wants an agreement by the end of the calendar year, otherwise Nunavut will have to look at all options including turning administration of the program over to Indigenous Services Canada, something the Nunavut government would rather not have to do.

Kieron Testart and Robert Hawkins say they're bringing forward a bill that would repeal the NWT's carbon tax and "shift it to the federal backstop."

RJ Simpson sounded "more collaborative" on Friday, one MLA said, as he mulled holding a wildfire public inquiry after other reviews – if people still want one.

Movie screenings will continue through the weekend in Iqaluit as the Nunavut International Film Festival celebrates its fourth year.

The five-day festival is hosted at the Astro Hill movie theatre and features a northern focus with work by filmmakers from Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Greenland. All screenings are free.

The festival kicked off Wednesday night with a screening of Tautuktavuk (What We See), a film by Carol Kunnuk and Lucy Tulugarjuk.

A full schedule of screenings is on the film festival’s Facebook page.

While the festival has grown to be international, which means it receives submissions to screen northern-focused films created outside of Canada, it started with a focus on education.

“We’ve been running with the children’s Inuktitut film festival for seven years and our organization is made up of educators with a big focus on literacy,” said Holly McCann, project manager for the Nunavut Bilingual Education Society.

“We started doing a children’s film festival where we screened Inuktitut children’s films and then we also would send out DVDs to schools across the territory.”

Films being screened this year at the Nunavut International Film Festival include Imajuik, a short sci-fi horror directed by Marc Fussing Rosbach, IKAARTUIT, a Nunavik-focused movie directed by Annie-Claude Roberge, and Nigiqtuq (The South Wind), an imaginNATIVE award-winning short drama directed by Lindsay McIntyre.

McIntyre has five films being shown at the festival, including Seeing Her and All Around Junior Male in the short film category.

There will be a Q&A with filmmakers McIntyre, Gina Burgess and Cynthia Pitsiulak on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Astro Theatre.

The festival opened Wednesday and runs until Feb. 25. McCann said that after that there will be a virtual festival for people from other communities to view online.

The Ilisaqsivik Society’s new executive director says it’s “exciting and rewarding” to be leading the Clyde River wellness organization.

Jennifer Jaypoody was selected as the new executive director of Ilisaqsivik and director of Tukumaaq Inc., the organization’s business arm that runs its local hotels, the Ilisaqsivik board of directors announced Friday.

Born and raised in Clyde River, Jaypoody holds a bachelor of education degree from the University of Regina and has held roles with the Clyde River Co-Op committee, the district education authority committee and the health committee.

She was most recently vice-principal of Quluaq School and told Nunatsiaq News that her background working closely with youth there will be beneficial as she steps into leading Ilisaqsivik.

She said she hopes to create better programming for locals and address issues like food insecurity in the community.

Jaypoody takes over the roles from interim executive director Shari Fox.

Before Fox, Ilisaqsivik’s executive director was Malcolm Ranta, who was placed on leave in November 2022 after being charged with one count of sexual assault in July that year. Ranta’s case is still before the courts.

The organization would not comment on Ranta except to say he is no longer an employee of the Ilisaqsivik Society.

The Ilisaqsivik Society is a not-for-profit group that runs wellness programming and Inuktitut-language counselling in Clyde River and other Nunavut communities.

It’s an umbrella organization that consists of Ilisaqsivik, Tukumaaq and the Ittaq Heritage and Research Centre, and is the largest employer in Clyde River with about 200 employees.

“I am very excited to join this incredible team delivering programs and services,” Jaypoody said in the announcement.

“I am also proud to soon be leading and representing the organization that is helping my community and Inuit.”

Jaypoody will start her tenure March 1.

Housing development in Nunavik faces two challenges: thawing permafrost and a lack of gravel.

According to Laval University geography professor Michel Allard, a more sustainable way to move forward would be to use piles — steel or wooden beams driven into the ground to support a building’s foundation — rather than building on gravel beds.

He presented results of his research to Kativik Regional Government council at its meeting Tuesday.

With a team of graduate students at the university’s Northern Studies Centre, Allard analyzed how recently constructed buildings in Nunavik were already being damaged by thawing permafrost.

In Inukjuak, for example, they found crooked foundations in houses that were built between 2000 and 2010.

“Communities have been spreading over sensitive permafrost,” Allard said, and the thaw has caused the ground to shift and displace the foundations.

“Housing construction is made on flatlands in communities” where water tends to accumulate naturally, he said.

In most cases, the ground consists of ice and clay which is prone to deformation.

“The idea is to have foundation for the buildings that will last in adaptation to this risk created by climate change,” Allard said.

Meanwhile, with a shortage of gravel it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the resources needed to build the kind of foundations usually used in Nunavik.

According to KRG, the villages of Quaqtaq, Kangiqsujuaq, Salluit, Ivujivik, Puvirnituq, Umiujaq and Kuujjuaraapik all face a shortage of gravel or only have a distant and costly access to it.

Allard said that in many communities a single gravel pad for a home can cost more than $250,000.

He said there has been an overexploitation of gravel. Speaking to council, he showed two instances in Puvirnituq where a gravel pad was built on top of bedrock.

“The bedrock underneath is solid enough,” he said.

If done correctly, he said, building on bedrock would be as solid as building on a gravel pad.

Allard said he asked numerous homebuilders that build housing for Nunavimmiut or for staff what their estimated construction expenditures would be for the next decade. The total added up to more than $6.5 billion.

“Most constructors agree that gravel pads are not the adequate foundation anymore,” he said.

In addition to its high cost and the lack of available gravel, pads deform, there are compaction problems and they impact natural water drainage systems.

As an alternative, Allard suggested each community should have a drill and a crusher.

With these tools, he said, piles could be drilled into bedrock to provide stable foundations. That work could be done between April and June, providing a head start to the construction season.

By using bedrock as a primary foundation and gravel to put in place additional support only, the use of granular resources would be reduced by 53 per cent, Allard said.

The foundations would also be more stable and would stand up to thawing permafrost.

“The recommendation in our report is for the government to support the purchase of drills in the communities,” he said.

Allard said Nunavik organizations could purchase 14 drills for all the villages at a cost of about $710,000 per drill.

Beekeepers, gardeners, farmers and governments are meeting in Yellowknife to share ideas and solutions for the NWT's agri-food economy.

The cause of the fire that destroyed 12 units at the Northview-owned Garden Townhomes complex in Yellowknife last fall is now being investigated as as a “potential criminal act” by the RCMP.

Kirt Ejesiak can trace the origins of his Iqaluit-based business back to the days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was difficult to manufacture things locally due to public health restrictions.

“We couldn’t do anything so I thought, why not design and develop beautiful things with a help of a 3D printer?” said the president and CEO of Apex 3D, a full-service design, scanning and printing company.

A 3D printer produces three-dimensional objects by layering together thin, different-sized pieces of materials that can range from paper to plastics or composites.

Apex 3D is using the technology to produce items that range from industrial parts to archeological pieces that are of historical significance.

“I wanted to create things that are beautiful and literally take the stuff that is sitting in museums and make it available to my kids and everybody else,” Ejesiak said.

The company has also used 3D printing to produce pieces for drones, parts for fittings and saws, and custom ulu-shaped handles for cabinetmakers.

The business is equipped with Statasys Origin One and FDM 3D printers. Ejesiak is the lone employee, although he sometimes hires contractors to help him.

He said the focus now is on distributing his creations across Canada, but the goal of Apex 3D is to reach markets around the world to provide shops with goods manufactured in Iqaluit by Inuit.

He offers the example of producing custom-made replicas of 1,000-year-old Inuit goggles that could be sold at shops across Canada and the U.S.

“If they want to think about Inuit, they would want a pair of these beautifully designed Inuit goggles,” he said of his potential customers.

Ejesiak said Apex 3D is marketing those to gauge people’s interest in purchasing them as well as other replicas of historical items that were used by Inuit on Baffin Island.

“We want to introduce that again and, say, stuff that Inuit used 100 years ago we can now manufacture them again on a large scale,” he said.

Ejesiak compared working with 3D printing as being “like magic.”

“The scan is just the start,” Ejesiak said.

“You can add textures, you could add lenses to this old tech, you can use fancy lights, you can create night goggles with traditional Inuit goggles.”

Forecasters cancelled a winter storm watch for Yellowknife and nearby communities, but blowing snow and a big temperature swing are still expected.

A family in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., is reeling after an incident at the community's elementary school last month, and community leaders say it harkens back to residential schools. 

Hunting is about more than just food for one Kugaaruk family. It’s about tradition.

Mark Kutsiutikku Jr. started taking his 16-year-old son, Daniel Kutsiutikku, out hunting when Daniel was 10 years old.

They’ve been on the land more times than Mark can count, he said, but all of that training recently bore fruit after the teen bagged his first bull caribou and bearded seal last year.

The bearded seal is Daniel’s most recent kill. The duo were hunting polar bears last fall when they came across a small pod of seals about six or eight kilometres west of Kugaaruk.

Daniel shot the seal with a .22-calibre rifle and then they started the three-hour process of bringing the bounty to shore.

The teen’s hands were shaking because he was so excited, Mark said.

The animal, about 1.5 metres long, was stuck in the water for about 10 minutes before they were able to pull it on land by towing it behind their boats.

Mark said he was really happy and “all smiles” about his son’s first successful seal hunt and Daniel, a young man of few words, called the hunt “Good and fun.”

Mark and Daniel gutted and prepared the seal and went on to share some with community members. Some of the meat they cook, some of it they eat raw.

The Kutsiutikku family sticks to fishing with nets this time of year, which has been fruitful so far, Mark said.

Daniel isn’t the only hunter in the family. He has two siblings, both girls, aged 12 and 18. Mark is also teaching them to hunt, he said. Daniel’s eldest sister caught her first caribou three years ago.

Mark added it isn’t uncommon to see polar bears, narwhals and bowhead whales near Kugaaruk.

As for Daniel, he said he loves caribou hunting, but really wants to bring down a narwhal or polar bear next.

Colville Lake declined to share observations about climate change and caribou with the GNWT at a public session, citing distrust amid an ongoing court case.

Nearly five years after he was arrested during a cocaine trafficking investigation in Yellowknife, a man has been convicted of a related charge.

The NWT’s ombud, Colette Langlois, is stepping down after a five-year term. Meanwhile, she's recommending the ombud's powers expand to cover communities.

Don't use the Gamètì winter road, governments warned as a winter storm approaches. Weather advisories are now in place for more communities.

An "armed and barricaded situation" at a downtown Yellowknife apartment building ended without injury on Thursday evening, RCMP say.

Questions are emerging about whether one retail chain in Canada’s North is unfairly profiting from food inflation, a joint investigation by CBC’s The Fifth Estate and APTN Investigates has found. An ex-employee of the North West Company is questioning pricing increases that she says she found hard to justify.

Fire officials in the N.W.T. say they'll bring in staff and resources earlier than usual this spring, to prepare for the coming wildfire season and also assess any fires still smouldering underground since last year.

Two years ahead of schedule, a federal plan to cut the cost of regulated child care spaces to $10 a day is set to become a reality in the N.W.T.

Wildlife officers in the Northwest Territories have opened an investigation into allegations of caribou meat wastage along the Tibbett to Contwoyto winter road leading from Yellowknife to the territory’s diamond mines.

N.W.T. MLAs voted Thursday to call for a public inquiry into the territory's wildfire response. Members said the inquiry is necessary to restore public trust and learn how better to handle evacuations for possible future emergencies.

As investigations continue into the deaths of two young residents of the Naja Isabelle group home in Chesterfield Inlet, the community’s MLA is encouraging residents not to spread rumours and be patient for answers.

Family Services Minister Margaret Nakashuk announced last week that multiple investigations were underway into the deaths of a 12-year-old and 19-year-old at the Pimakslirvik Corp.-operated facility, which provides services to young people with specialized medical needs.

Nunavut coroner Khen Sagadraca and the RCMP are investigating, and the Government of Nunavut has hired a third-party firm to investigate what the GN described as “critical incidents” at the home.

Sagadraca has confirmed the 19-year-old died outside the territory on Oct. 17, and the 12-year-old died Jan. 6. Neither their names nor their genders have been released.

In the legislative assembly Thursday, Rankin Inlet North-Chesterfield Inlet MLA Alexander Sammurtok thanked Nakashuk for communicating with him directly on the matter.

He called on the GN to be “clear and forthcoming” while addressing the issue.

When people don’t have all the information they want, rumours might spread, Sammurtok said.

“It is unfortunate when the lack of clarity and direct information leads to speculations and rumours,” he said in his member’s statement.

“I appreciate that we must respect issues of privacy and confidentiality as well as the rights of families.”

Sammurtok encouraged the community to be patient and ensure people are not prematurely condemned while the investigations continue.

“It’s also important that all those involved are treated fairly and without prejudice until all the facts are known,” he said.

“Lives have been lost. It is important that other lives are not ruined by the kinds of hot gossip, rumours and speculations that can too easily fill the vacuum created by the lack of information.”

During question period, Sammurtok asked Nakashuk to provide more information about the investigations; however, Nakashuk responded with little more than what was previously announced.

Sammurtok also asked what her department is doing to support the local staff and clients of the Naja Isabelle home.

“We can find ways to provide support [to staff], but they are corporation employees [therefore] it’s a barrier for the government,” Nakashuk said.

“We have to have consideration for the clients and that they are in a safe place.”

A winter storm is expected to strike Yellowknife and other communities around Great Slave Lake on Friday, bringing winds gusting to 70 km/h and snow.

Ethel Blondin-Andrew, a former N.W.T. MP and the former chair of the Sahtu Secretariat, said the kind of drugs coming into the communities and the potential for violence scare her.

Five Nunavut social work students are recipients of a $10,000 scholarship to help them further their studies in the hope they’ll return to work in the territory, Family Services Minister Margaret Nakashuk said Thursday.

Nakashuk announced the recipients of the Rebekah Uqi Williams Scholarship during the first day of the legislative assembly’s winter sitting in Iqaluit.

“We hope to see you join the team in the future,” Nakashuk said.

The scholarship aims to honor the legacy of Williams, a former MLA who died in April 2023, by supporting the studies of future social workers, Nakashuk said in a minister’s statement.

The Government of Nunavut created a memorial scholarship to honour former MLA Rebekah Uqi Williams. (File photo)

She said that since the launch of the scholarship last October, a total of 29 applications were received from Nunavummiut students pursuing a career in social work, counseling or psychology.

“Through this scholarship and the ambitions of these students, the legacy of Ms. Williams lives on,” Nakashuk said.

This year’s recipients are: Sheena Kayasark from Taloyoak; Carmen Rowsell from Iqaluit; Sylvia Kablutsiak from Arviat; Katherine Lyall from Taloyoak; and Pauline Pauloosie from Cambridge Bay/Taloyoak.

The students who received the awards are enrolled in social work or social services programs at Nunavut Arctic College, Laurentian University and Carleton University.

Nakashuk concluded by saying her department wishes all students good luck in their studies, and hopes to see them join the GN team in the future.

Students in seven more communities will have access to full-day kindergarten as the Government of Nunavut expands the program throughout the territory.

Gjoa Haven, Grise Fiord, Pond Inlet, Qikiqtarjuaq, Resolute Bay, Sanikiluaq and Taloyoak are preparing to start full-day kindergarten programs in the next school year, Education Minister Pamela Gross announced in the legislative assembly Thursday.

“Expanding full-day kindergarten will help more students build foundational knowledge and skills in important areas such as Inuit culture and language, literacy, numeracy, as well as physical and social-emotional wellness,” Gross said in the legislature.

The full-day kindergarten pilot program was launched in five schools in August 2023: Nanook School in Iqaluit, Victor Sammurtok School in Chesterfield Inlet, Qaqqalik School in Kimmirut, Jimmy Hikok Ilihakvik School in Kugluktuk and Inuglak School in Whale Cove.

This marked the first step to help guide a system-wide rollout, Gross said.

The next phase will continue with the seven additional schools, which have all received motions of approval from their local district education authorities, she added.

The department is developing a plan for sustainable, permanent full-day kindergarten that will address the additional infrastructure and human resource needs for additional Nunavut schools.

“Due to the anticipated high cost of renovations for some schools, further rollouts will be more gradual,” she said.

A new study of illness and injury among dogs in the Yukon Quest international sled dog race in past years lays bare how many of the animals experienced "abnormal" health conditions while participating in the long-distance race. 

Kativik Regional Government’s public works director sounded an alarm this week over the lack of routine water testing being done in Nunavik’s communities.

The regional government mandates weekly physical and chemical tests of the water, and that results be reported to the municipal public works department.

In the first five weeks of 2024, KRG received 79 per cent of these results, said director Hossein Shafeghati.

This number is “lower than we would like it to be,” he told KRG council on Wednesday.

As well, the Government of Quebec requires quarterly physical and chemical municipal water tests. The last round was in January, said Shafeghati, and only two of 14 communities have turned in samples.

“The most important part of what our department does is keeping an eye on the quality of drinking water,” he said.

According to Environment Quebec’s website, physical and chemical analyses are done to check soil characteristics that affect the water supply. Arsenic, manganese, chlorides and barium are among the contents the tests watch for.

Each community has a water plant operator who takes care of testing the water each week. Allowing that some some of them were on holiday at the beginning of January, Shafeghati urged municipalities to ensure a back-up operator can take over.

“Apart from the mayor, the most important job is the water plant operator,” he said, adding the department can provide maintenance assistance but “cannot go and do sampling and testing for every village.”

Shafeghati pointed out that the problems are especially persistent in Kangiqsujuaq, Ivujivik, Akulivik and Umiujaq.

Tasiujaq, Ivujivik and Umiujaq were under boil water advisories after the latest round of sampling, published Thursday.

“We need to monitor the quality of the raw water and the quality of the product water to every detail,” he said.

“Because of climate change, and all sorts of things happening in the environment, if the characteristics of the raw water changes we will have to change the design process accordingly.”

Currently, there are ongoing maintenance projects happening to water plants in Kuujjuaq, Tasiujaq, Aupaluk, Kangirsuk, Quaqtaq and Ivujivik.

Concerning wastewater lagoons, a new project is in the design stage for Salluit due to sewage trucks having difficulty reaching the location on top of the hill, especially during winter.

The project’s mandate is to brainstorm ideas on how to transport the wastewater up to the lagoon.

Shafeghati said that in Inukjuak, his team suspects there is a leak in the lagoon due to the appearance of wetlands nearby that should not be there. KRG has contracted a geotechnical company to investigate.

Regulated childcare spaces across the NWT are set to cost an average of $10 a day by April 1 – but that doesn't mean everyone will be paying that rate.

Nunavut has a new ethics officer, the first to be a resident of the territory.

Joseph Murdoch-Flowers was appointed to the role Tuesday, according to an announcement from the Human Resources Department.

Murdoch-Flowers takes over from Justice Sheila MacPherson, who now sits on the Northwest Territories Supreme Court. Nunavut’s first ethics officer was Jeffrey Schnoor, who filled the role from Manitoba until he retired in 2022.

Murdoch-Flowers said he’s honoured to serve in the role.

“I’m excited to get started on the work,” he said Wednesday, speaking by phone from Iqaluit.

Other than his articling studies, Murdoch-Flowers’ entire legal career has been spent in Nunavut, he said.

Originally from Labrador, he graduated from McGill University and worked for a judge in Ottawa before becoming a lawyer. He has worked in the National Litigation Division for the Government of Canada’s Department of Justice and in civil litigation with the Legal Services Board of Nunavut.

He also served as acting senior justice of the peace for the Nunavut Court of Justice and as a lawyer with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

The ethics officer works in response to the public service, dealing with disclosures of wrongdoing from public servants, Murdoch-Flowers explained.

“My role is to give advice to public servants about matters under the Public Service Act,” he said.

“It will also be to provide assistance and guidance to government departments when they are looking at setting up their own internal disclosure processes.”

Murdoch-Flowers will receive disclosures on wrongdoing directly from public servants and conduct investigations where appropriate.

He’ll also have a role in reviewing cases where a public servant is alleging reprisals for allegations of wrongdoing, he said.

“Public servants need to have confidence that they have ways of dealing with wrongdoing that happens within the government,” he said.

“It’s important for public servants to have different options available to them for voicing their concerns around wrongdoing. The ethics officer is one of those avenues for those sorts of disclosures.”

Murdoch-Flowers was appointed for a five-year term.

“My goal is really to maintain the confidence of the public service, [and] that I’m a fair, reasonable, balanced, person to have in this role,” he said.

Human Resources Minister Margaret Nakashuk praised Murdoch-Flowers’ “extensive legal experience” in a statement included in this week’s announcement of the appointment.

“His broad legal experience is matched by his work in restorative justice, an essential ingredient for the territorial ethics officer,” she said.

Iqaluit will get a new water truck and two new sewage trucks at a cost of approximately $907,900, after city council approved the move Tuesday night.

Council wasn’t initially scheduled to meet that night, however members voted unanimously to support the purchase during a 15-minute meeting held specifically to address this proposal.

The reason for the urgency was to ensure the city receives the new vehicles this year, said Steve England, Iqaluit’s chief administrative officer, during the meeting.

After the 2024 municipal budget was approved Feb. 13, the city began preparing requests for proposals to acquire the trucks, using funds allocated for that purpose.

However, it became clear that if the city issued that request — the standard process where contractors bid to provide goods or services — it would take until the 2025 sealift season to get the trucks.

“This delay has potential to cause undue hardship for residents,” England said.

If the city lost the service of a water or sewer truck unexpectedly and did not add more to the fleet, the vehicle shortage could create an emergency situation for those services, he said.

Citing that, England asked council to approve his motion to purchase the three trucks directly from Hay River Heavy Trucks Ltd., based in the Northwest Territories.

“This action will help us avoid the aforementioned problems and continue to provide essential services to the community,” England said.

Coun. Sam Tilley said he was in favour of the motion.

“We do not want our residents not to get water and sewer services if one of [our] trucks go out of commission,” he said.

Tilley said that as someone with a professional background in procurement, he typically favours using a bidding process for large purchases.

In this circumstance, he said, he understands the need to buy directly from the supplier so the city does not have to wait longer to get the vehicles.

Coun. Harry Flaherty asked if the amount of money to be spent on these three service trucks matches the amount allocated in the city’s budget. England said it does.

Coming up: Watch MLAs debate whether to hold an NWT wildfires public inquiry, listen to live coverage on Cabin Radio with play-by-play, and read text updates.