Iqaluit (July 31/06) - Heading into her first three-year term as president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Mary Simon has a lot on her plate.

The former diplomat and president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference won the presidency by acclamation at the ITK conference in Inuvik earlier this month. She steps into her new job at a time when Inuit face unprecedented economic opportunities and self-determination, while stubborn social and economic problems still linger.

So Simon's to-do list is a long one, topped by an ongoing housing crisis, the state of Inuktitut education, and the question of how to develop a modern cash economy without destroying traditional ways of life.

"At the centre of all these priorities or issues that are identified are the people who live in the communities," Simon said. "I always look to see what conditions they're facing."

Simon says ITK's job is to draw the federal government's attention towards the problems facing Inuit. She tried to do that with a broadside fired at the federal Conservative government at the International Circumpolar Conference's recent meeting in Barrow, Alaska. She criticized Stephen Harper's government for abandoning the Kelowna Accord, downplaying the problem of climate change, and for voting against a United Nations' draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.

Last week Simon attended a meeting of Canadian premiers in St. John's, Nfld., to try to revive the Kelowna Accord, which pledged billions to address aboriginal social problems and was agreed to by all 13 premiers and the federal government in 2003. Since then, the Conservative Party took power in Ottawa and mentioned not a word about the deal in May's federal budget.

"The federal government, whether it's a Conservative government or a Liberal government, should not pick and choose what it likes or doesn't like about the accord because this was a commitment made by Canada," Simon said.

Earlier this month, defence minister Gordon O'Connor confirmed the military will build a port somewhere in the territory and station three new icebreakers here. The port is seen by many as key to Nunavut's economic growth and Nunavut Tunngavik president Paul Kaludjak supports the boost in military presence.

Simon also supports the expansion of the Canadian military in the Arctic, but warns it can't be viewed in isolation from the social and environmental problems Nunavut faces. "While they're doing these major investments they can't ignore the social and environmental realities in our communities, (but) we're not going to say we're not happy with what they're doing because the Arctic is one of the longest coastlines in Canada."