NDP leader promises to put people of North first
Thomas Mulcair outlines party's plans for Nutrition North, climate change
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, October 5, 2015
IQALUIT
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair promised a different approach to the North after seeing candidate Jack Anawak hold up a medallion showing his father's government-issued number in lieu of a name.
Nunavut NDP candidate Jack Anawak, left, and NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, right, after a news conference outside Nakasuk School in Iqaluit on Sept. 29. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo |
"This is my dad's," said Anawak, holding up a small medallion to a crowd of hundreds in Nakasuk School on Sept. 29.
"We had just numbers. The people involved, the bureaucrats, didn't want to learn about how to pronounce our names. We were just numbers to them a short time ago."
Mulcair spoke afterward, referencing Prime Minister Stephen Harper's use of "those people" during the recent Munk debate.
"Mr. Harper said, 'Those people,' and that was you," said Mulcair. "Well tell you what. We're the same people, and our government is going to make sure that the people of the North are first and foremost in the minds of every civil servant, every plan, every bill, everything that we do from now on."
He said the Inuit of the North will receive constant attention.
"We'll be there with you every step of the way, not to decide for you, but to listen and understand."
Mulcair took part in a series of photo opportunities during a two-day trip through Iqaluit, including posing with a container of orange juice, riding an ATV and holding a media conference in Apex.
He announced a plan to invest $32 million to "fix and expand" Nutrition North, increasing the number of communities it serves by 50. The plan also includes a review of Nutrition North, support for culturally appropriate and sustainable food security solutions and drawing on expertise from existing successful models that increase the use of local foods.
In Apex, Mulcair announced a plan to "reverse the damage Stephen Harper has done to Canada's scientific community," by ending the Conservatives' policy of limiting government-employed scientists from speaking publicly about their research before it appears in journals and documentation.
"An NDP government will reverse this alarming trend and promote the voice of Canada's scientists, as they are key to the health and safety of Canadians," he said.
Mulcair committed $100 million to an initiative to allow 25 Northern and remote communities to reduce their impact on the climate through investments in wind, small-scale hydro and other energy solutions to replace diesel generation.
"Our Northern clean energy initiatives will save Northern communities from excessive fuel costs, improve community health and greatly reduce local impacts on climate change," said Mulcair.
Anawak said he is glad the NDP supports more affordable housing as well.
"Mental health is a big, big issue in Nunavut," said Anawak. "A lot of things impact on mental health, whether it's the shortage of housing, overcrowding."
Mulcair said anything the NDP talks about doing with the North has to be first and foremost about the people of the North.
"Let's start with our elders, because they deserve to be taken care of," he said in Nakasuk School. "The price of food, the failure of the Nutrition North program, means a lot of our elders simply are not able to live decently. We're going to increase the guaranteed income supplement and help them."
Mulcair promised that the Canadian government would deal with Inuit on a nation-to-nation basis.
