Northern News Services
Iqaluit (Mar 12/01) - The day after Nunavut's third budget was released, the assistant deputy minister of finance, Victor Tootoo, shared some of his thoughts. He also talked what he learned living on the streets as a teenager.
News/North:
Who, or what, has been the great love of your life?
Victor Tootoo:
Right now? I'm in love with Samantha Hughes. I met her here in August and started going out with her in October. Things are going really great.
News/North:
What's the second greatest love of your life? The world of finance?
VT:
No, my career is important to me, but I think family is more important than the world of finance. My three kids in Rankin Inlet.
News/North:
How much time do you get to spend with them?
VT:
Not as much as I'd like. I usually get to see them every couple of months. They come for a couple of weeks at a time.
News/North:
It must be very hard that they live so far away.
VT:
I feel it almost every day. There's that tug. Sometimes it really hurts. I came to the realization that things are better the way they are. When I was with their mother, things weren't good and the kids were feeling it too.
News/North:
Have you ever thought about trying to get custody of your children?
VT:
I've thought about it, but they have great mothers. Nancy is doing a great job raising Donna and Christine and Debbie is doing a great job of raising Savannah. I would like to have them stay here longer, but I don't know that their mothers are ready for that or that they are all ready for that. It will come. I just enjoy the time I do have with them.
News/North:
Do you feel like you get to contribute enough to their upbringing from this distance?
VT:
For the most part. That's one of the things that really hurts, not being there every day. You like to be there when it's their first day of school and help them with their homework and be there for their joys and successes. I'm able to get there for some of those things, but others I'm not there. I wasn't there for my younger daughter Christine's first day of school. I would have cried if I was.
News/North:
Where did you grow up?
VT:
All over. I was born in Edmonton. I'm the original Edmonton Eskimo. I went into a foster home when I was 15 and I left there when I was 16 and went on my own to Winnipeg.
News/North:
That's young to be on your own. Were you successful at it?
VT:
No. Quite the opposite. I lived on the streets of Winnipeg when I was 16 years old in a rough area of town, pan-handling and living at the Salvation Army. That taught me a few things. It was an immersion course in life. It taught me I don't want to go back there. I got a job in Churchill. The guy who hired me sent me $100. The ticket was $77. I had $23 to spend on food, which I didn't spend on food. The money was gone and I had a two-and-a-half day train ride and all I had was one sandwich. I got into Churchill pretty hungry. Living on the streets really made me realize that if I'm going to do anything, I have to do it myself. I can't get hand-outs from anybody else. That's the way I look at it. People are where they want to be. I made some unwise choices, but you overcome those and you do what you can. You look back and think I wish I didn't do that, but I'm kind of glad I did. It got me to where I am today.
News/North:
What do you aspire to?
VT:
The next move I make will be a move up. I want to run the show in whatever organization I work for.
News/North:
Does that mean the world of elected politics or just higher up in the bureaucracy?
VT:
I have one more step up in the bureaucracy. I would be comfortable with that.
News/North:
Are you going to oust (Finance Deputy Minister) Bob Vardy?
VT:
I don't think my first deputy posting will be in the finance department. I did tell him the day I met him that I was going to one day take his job. That was one of the first things I said to him. He's been a great mentor and a large influence in my career ever since I met him. Being able to say those kinds of things -- it's important to have that kind of communication with the people you work with.
News/North:
You said you think people are where they want to be. Do you think there are some circumstances that prevent people from achieving their goals?
VT:
No matter who you are or what set of skills, talents or abilities you're given, if you want something bad enough, you can get it. There are so many examples of people who have overcome the greatest of odds and obstacles to do the things they want to do. One of my pet peeves is the people who blame others for where they are. Everybody has to accept responsibility for their own lives, the things they do and the consequences of their own actions. It's not easy. There's a lot of times when you want to give up and quit.
News/North:
What is your wildest dream?
VT:
I thought about being the first Inuk prime minister of Canada...but I'm not sure I want to get into politics.
News/North:
Why?
VT:
I'm not 100 per cent convinced it's a goal worthy of aspiring to. You hear people talk about politicians all the time. They say they're nothing but liars and crooks. I know if I went into politics I wouldn't be a liar or a crook.
News/North:
You're not afraid you'd be corrupted by it?
VT:
No...but that can happen. It can make people think and act differently. It gets to their heads. I was caught up like that before and somebody said to me, 'Victor, you've got to get off your high horse.' I don't want to think of myself as better than anybody else. There are people who lose sight of that.
