Pond Inlet residents to pick their next MLA
Mittimatalik/Pond Inlet
photo courtesy Elections Nunavut
The residents of Pond Inlet will be heading to the polls Sept. 16 to choose between Charlie Inuarak and David Qajaakuttuk Qamaniq to represent them at Nunavut's legislative assembly.
The byelection was called after the death of Tununiq MLA and Speaker of the legislative assembly Joe Enook in March.
Inuarak, a former mayor of Pond Inlet, served as the community director for the Qikiktani Inuit Association (QIA) after his election in Dec. 2018. He stepped away from that position to declare his candidacy for the Tununiq seat.
photo courtesy Elections Nunavut
Qamaniq, also a former mayor for the community, is running for the Tununiq seat for the fifth time. In 2004, he came second in a tight race, with 138 votes to Jobie Nutarak's 142. In a 2011 byelection, he lost to Enook by a wide margin – 109 votes to Enook's 285. Qamaniq was Enook's sole opponent in the 2013 territorial election and lost again – 132 to Enook's 359. In 2017, Enook again took the vote, with 258 to Qamaniq's 146.
Qamaniq also served on the local district education authority, and more recently as a QIA community liaison officer.
Voting takes place at Nasivvik High School Sept. 16 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Toronto furs head to Kugluktuk and Iqaluit for sewing projects
Kugluktuk/Iqaluit
A 2016 school exchange between Kugluktuk High School and Upper Canada College, located in Toronto, has led to a surprising endeavour.
Robert Walker, one of the four students from Toronto, working with his mother Susan Eplett, have collected unused fur coats. Those will be on their way to Kugluktuk and Iqaluit in the coming month. Walker already sent a shipment to Kugluktuk last year.
"When I visited (in 2016), the school had some fur coats that people had brought up for sewing class," said Walker.
Furs were indeed sent to Kugluktuk from Victoria, B.C. by an initiative called Furs to the Arctic, and they were shared between the schools and a sewing group. Students and seamstresses made mitts, kamiks, and trimmed parkas.
"When I got back home I talked with my mum and we started to reach out in Toronto for fur coats and we had a huge response," said Walker.
"There was a surprising amount of interest. When we talked to people in Toronto, they just had no use for these fur coats and they were really, really happy that they would be going to be used."
Air Canada and Canadian North are shipping the 40 furs free of charge.
In Iqaluit, elders will use the furs to teach traditional sewing skills to children at the Elder's Qammaq, said Walker.
Jordin Tootoo joins global Canada Goose campaign
Kangiqliniq/Rankin Inlet
A new Canada Goose global campaign, Live in The Open, will feature former NHL player Jordin Tootoo.
photo courtesy Canada Goose
Tootoo is part of a trio, which includes Italian outdoor artist Alice Pasquini and Beijing-born Norwegian Arctic expedition guide Jiayi Zhao.
The campaign will profile Pasquini, then Zhao and, finally, Tootoo.
"The campaign's final destination is the Canadian North, a place Canada Goose calls home with its long-standing commitment to the people that live there. Here, Jordin Tootoo, a former NHL player, activist, and now the brand’s newest Goose Person, pays homage to the raw and beautiful land of Nunavut," states Canada Goose.
"He became the first Inuk player in the NHL and went on to enjoy a 15-year career against all odds and personal struggles. Since leaving the league, he devotes his time to talking openly to Indigenous communities about mental health and his own individual journey to healing."
Canada Goose hired high-profile talent to document the three and their stories: film director Janssen Powers – short-listed at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his two documentary shorts – and photographer Diana Markosian – whose work has been published in the National Geographic, The New Yorker and The New York Times, according to the release.
"The campaign will come to life this fall in key cities – London, Berlin, New York City, Los Angeles and Toronto – through painted murals created by Alice Pasquini," states Canada Goose.
"Each trailblazer’s story will be documented in individual videos beginning September 13th, when Live in the Open launches globally."
Watch: Live in the Open Anthem