Six vie for council seats
Northern News Services
Monday, March 20, 2017
IQALUIT
Two Iqaluit city council seats are up for grabs in a byelection April 10. Nunavut News/North gave each of the six candidates 150 words to say why they are running. Responses have been edited for length and grammar.
Dushyenth Ganesan
I have lived in Iqaluit since 2000 and have seen the many changes that have impacted our capital city.
I have 25 years of experience working in economic development for private and government organizations and have a clear understanding of how economic factors impact quality of life.
My experience provides me with an understanding of how to work with Inuit organizations and the territorial and federal governments to gain financial and technical support for the many areas that our city needs to improve such as: infrastructure; community-based health care, social services, education and food security; recreation and wellness to improve quality of life for youth and adults; waste and environmental management; Inuit cultural programs and facility improvements; economic development programs to support small business development and local employment; housing infrastructure and policies that address the desperate needs of Iqalungmiut; and accessibility.
I will work on these issues for Iqalungmiut.
Stephen Austin Leyden
One hundred fifty words might not be quite enough to hit every reason why I am running for council. The main one is I care about this city and where it is headed. Unfortunately, there is an underlying ideology that "I'm out in two weeks, not my problem, other guy can deal with it," "I am only here a couple years, what do I care," "When I retire down south, I can _______". These and sentences like these can be heard at every watercooler and coffee machine in this town.
Iqaluit needs to be home, not home for now. Iqaluit is growing, the fastest growing city, in the fastest growing territory/province in Canada, the fastest growing G7 country.
We as Iqalungmiut need to welcome people from the North, from the south, and from the east or west. Welcome them to be part of our community and to grow it together, to be vested in it, committed to it for more than a set period of time. When we have that level of commitment, we will be able to grow Iqaluit with Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
Jean-Luc Nevin
As a young Nunavummiuq I spent my formative years in Kimmirut and the majority of my life in Iqaluit. I embrace a unique position as a young Iqalungmiuq. I have spent all of my life in the Qikiqtaaluk region. I feel I can identify with the issues that face our youth in Nunavut, such as employment, food security and preparing to raise a family.
My personal focus if I were to be elected as a city council member would be first and foremost food security.
Secondly, I intend to open a dialogue in Iqaluit about the realities that our youth and our elders must face. For example, young families struggling to make ends meet, as well as elders who have limited mobility or who are almost bound into social assistance to survive. I feel that Nunavut's youth need to become proactively involved in local politics. I want to advocate and, more importantly, listen to what Nunavummuit are thinking about.
I can offer some pragmatic optimism and accessibility. I can promise to be committed and not be complacent with the status-quo.
Noah Ooloonie Papatsie
Born and raised in Iqaluit, I have three children and a spouse. My parents were Josie and Malaya Papatsie, originally from Northern Quebec and Pangnirtung respectively.
I've had a long career with the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation beginning in 1989 as a puppeteer and successfully working my way up to directing. I worked on a number of award-winning projects until a lighting accident occurred, which eventually caused my blindness in 2005.
Despite my challenges, I continued to serve the community as a president with the Nunavummi Disabilities Makkinasuaqtiit Society, a member of the Canadian Association for Community Living, a member of Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik.
I am a strong advocate and leader for Iqaluit and Nunavut.
I understand Iqaluit and the people that live here. I honour my elders, know the importance of the younger generations and want a better place to live for everyone.
My main priorities in serving the City of Iqaluit are: public safety, youth and elders, poverty, arts, culture and language, and economic development.
Kyle Sheppard
The city faces financial pressures on all sides. With aging infrastructure and the new aquatic centre now operating, it is going to take strong financial management to maintain or improve current service levels, and to prevent large tax increases in the coming years.
I have expertise in municipal finance, and a strong working knowledge of all aspects of municipal administration, from lands to economic development to bylaw creation, and I know I can use these skills to benefit all Iqalungmiut.
Prudent management will reduce tax increases on ratepayers, while allowing the city the freedom to do more for residents of all walks of life. By focusing expenses on the basics while continuing to lobby territorial and federal partners for further investment in our infrastructure needs, we can improve the quality of life for Iqalungmiut. I want to work towards these goals and ask for your support to achieve them.
Tim Sutheat
Integrity, transparency and accountability - my motto is based on my belief that the foundations of any successful democracy are representatives who have integrity, who are transparent, and who are accountable to the population that we serve.
As a resident of Iqaluit for over five years, I am concerned with the increasing lack of transparency plaguing the current city administration. I believe that important issues affecting infrastructure, labour and finances can only be solved if we work collectively and the only way to do this effectively is for all of us to make informed decisions, having access to all pertinent facts.
The lack of transparency plaguing the current administration creates a situation where I believe that they are not accountable to the population they serve and I hope that, through a seat on council, I can help influence positive changes to how Iqaluit is administered for the betterment of all of us.
