by Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 01/97) - Jack Anawak says the shaping of the Nunavut government is on schedule.

But questions about whether or not the interim commissioner is up to the task of forming the new government by April 1, 1999, arose last week after word began to circulate that Ottawa believes Anawak needs some help and has already found someone to work with him on the road to division.

Maryantonett Flumian, a senior assistant deputy minister with the Western Economic Diversification office, has been associated with the move by at least three well-placed observers in Nunavut and Ottawa.

None of the sources were willing to go on the record, and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs is remaining vague about the possibility of a second appointment for the office of the interim commissioner.

"Perhaps there might have been some preliminary discussions, but nobody has been appointed to work with Jack Anawak," said Lynne Boyer, a spokesperson for DIAND.

Boyer wouldn't elaborate on any discussions that may have taken place, but hinted that any appointment would be in a supporting role.

"If there is an appointment, it would be to support Anawak in his role as commissioner -- not in the capacity as co-commissioner," she said.

"Whatever has been happening, it's a little premature (to say.) There is a process and all that has to be firmed up before anything can happen."

Flumian could not be reached for comment. A member of her Ottawa staff would only say she is in meetings and wouldn't be available.

Even the question of who will make the appointment is unclear. Anawak referred all questions on the matter to Ottawa, but DIAND press secretary Kelly Ronan said the commissioner's office will be responsible for any appointment.

However, if a bureaucrat of Flumian's stature -- one rank below the top civil servant in a department -- is headed for Nunavut, it would signal a significant level of concern from the federal cabinet over the pace of preparations for Nunavut.

While Anawak didn't deny Ottawa's plans or that he'd received word about Flumian in a letter from DIAND Minister Jane Stewart's office, he wouldn't discuss it.

He did, however, say that he felt there was some misunderstanding in Ottawa about his office needing help.

"At a meeting with the minister, I said that we would ask for help if we needed it," he said last week.

But Anawak maintains that his office hasn't needed any help to date with organizing the new government and hasn't asked for it.

Appointed as interim commissioner six months ago, he sees himself as somewhat of an idealist who wants the best government for the people of Nunavut, but denies that his desire for a "people's government" has taken precedence over ensuring the "basics" of government are organized.

"All the essential services will be provided by the government of Nunavut by April 1, 1999," he said. "In other areas (those not in place), services will be contracted out. My priority is that the people of Nunavut feel happy with the government of Nunavut." Anawak, does, however, admit that there are not everything is going as well as it should be.

"I think there's some areas where we're behind and some we're ahead," he said. "We have some concerns."

He cited the recruitment of deputy ministers as an area where his office is ahead of schedule. The positions were advertised in several newspapers including the Globe and Mail.

They've received more than 100 applicants for the positions to date.

But any problems that exist are only par for the course, he said, and there is no cause for alarm. He also said he won't be entirely surprised by any criticism his office may receive about how things are going for 1999.

"I'm sure there's some people that think we're behind in some areas, but it all depends on one's point of view," he said.

"It's a matter of we see the big picture. We want people to say they know about and they had a role in the government of Nunavut." Anawak said that he will continue to organize the government the way he sees fit. "I'm going to do things the way I think things should happen and I said that when I was appointed," he said. "I was given the legislative authority to do that."