Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (May 13/02) - Poverty in Nunavut will continue to worsen if the unemployment rate among Inuit doesn't ease, says the territory's chief number-cruncher, Jack Hicks.

The prediction came at an anti-poverty meeting at Arctic College in Iqaluit held by the National Anti-Poverty Organization last Wednesday.

Pam Kapoor, the organization's acting executive director, was in Iqaluit as part of a Northern tour. She held a meeting to provide information about the organization and discuss poverty in the North.

According to 1999 data, the Inuit unemployment rate in Nunavut is 35.8 per cent -- 11 times higher than the non-Inuit unemployment rate, which is 3.3 per cent.

Data for 2001 is expected to available soon.

Hicks said there is no formal definition of poverty in Canada. And defining poverty in the North is more complicated than elsewhere.

According to 1999 data, the unemployment rate among middle-aged Inuit indicates they tend to hang on to the same job.

Hicks said that leaves fewer opportunities for young people, especially in outlying communities where jobs are scarce.

Because Nunavut has a young population, that could translate into more poverty down the road.

Hicks said the unemployment rate is low among non-Inuit because they usually have a job when they move here. If the job ends, they either find another one or leave the territory.

Hicks was one of about 20 people at the meeting on Wednesday.

The National Anti-Poverty Organization receives 60 per cent of its funds from Human Resources Development Canada. It has 22 elected board positions, but no Nunavut representative.

"We've identified the North as a priority area," Hicks said. "NAPO doesn't do a good enough job representing the North."