Kathleen Lippa
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Apr 12/04) - The day Paul Kaludjak was forced to choose between his wife and alcohol was the turning point of his life that saw him go from bylaw officer in Whale Cove to the president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

Paul Kaludjak was elected president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. March 16. - Kathleen Lippa/NNSL photo

Nunavut News/North: After the NTI election I commented on the sweat on your brow in my story. I'm wondering, was it just the heat in the room at the Navigator Inn, or were you really sweating because the vote was so close?

Paul Kaludjak: I had too many clothes on that evening! (Laughs) T-shirt, long johns. I was dressed for the cold weather. You go outdoors, you come in, you dress well.

N/N: So you weren't nervous?

PK: No. Not nervous. My wife was more edgy than I was. It was more or less the clothes more than anything else.

N/N: So you were confident.

PK: People out there told me I was the right choice. I was quite comfortable with what I was hearing. I got a lot of support. But the Baffin surprised me a little bit. I lost Baffin. I always have strong support in Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions. I'm kind of spoiled in a way. The voters spoiled me because since 1990 I have won back-to-back mayor terms in Rankin. Three times as President of Kivalliq Inuit Association. Then I ran for VP Finance and it was a landslide almost. The beneficiaries to some degree spoiled me. Overwhelming support. I have to give credit to Cathy Towtongie because the competition she gave me to the end was great, right to the end.

N/N: You were vice-president of finance of NTI for two years. Why did you want to be president of NTI? Let's face it, there is going to be a lot of scrutiny on you, on your family, especially because of the way things have gone at NTI over the last few years.

PK: The scrutiny started many moons ago. I'm used to it. This had been my long-term plan. There is going to be scrutiny on NTI. There always has been. Some years it's quite escalated. In terms of my ambition to be president of this organization, over two years ago my supporters asked me to run for NTI president. I declined. My family was not ready. This time around I accepted the nomination that put me here. Over the course of the land claims I have learned a lot. I have been a driving force behind the front lines. I have worked at the regional level with the board making sure the right policies got put in place, like a back bencher, and making sure things got changed as we went along. I felt I was ready. I could not wait forever.

N/N: You were the first bylaw officer in Whale Cove. What was that like?

PK: It was like being a cowboy of the town (Laughs). Things were getting set. That was 1975. That's when they became a hamlet. The community always had problems with dogs. So I got instruction from council to clean up the dog problem. I was given a 12-gauge shotgun as well as a .22 magnum or something like that. I was to shoot any loose dogs.

N/N: And did you?

PK: I went around shooting loose dogs that day and for the next month or so, and I cleaned up the community of loose dogs.

N/N: People must have been upset, though. There must have been a lot of people mad at you.

PK: Yes. That month probably half the town became my enemy. It was kind of good that people and the small kids in the community started paying attention to me. The hamlet had curfews. School kids had to be in by 9 p.m.

N/N: And you had to enforce that.

PK: I started enforcing it, and there wasn't a single kid on the streets at that time in the community for about six months or so and it was great. I thought I was part of the town...

N/N: Even though you were kind of the "heavy," you didn't mind that? You didn't mind people complaining about you, saying you're too hard?

PK: No. That landed me a different job right away. I became the SAO.

N/N: That's quite a jump, from bylaw to SAO. When you were going through your jobs early on, did you think one day you'd like to be president of...

PK: Not at that time. My sole mandate was to get my family in order. My wife and I started out great. That was my life: to make sure I did well for her and her family. I never knew someday I would climb to be a politician and work my way up to these ranks. It's taken 30 years.

N/N: You say on your Web site that you're lucky to be Dorothy's husband. That's a very romantic thing to put out there.

PK: Yes. Like any other husband and wife we've had our ups and downs. I think I can say we have mostly had ups. We have four kids. Driving force for us is our children. We were given an adopted daughter. That inspired us more, helped us realize that girls need to be taken care of differently. That brought us closer together. Dorothy supported me when I was down and out many years ago.

N/N: It doesn't sound like you were ever down and out.

PK: It was more personal. In Rankin Inlet we pretty much had open alcohol. We had our share of alcohol problems.

N/N: In the community?

PK: Yeah, and I was part of that. This was 24 years ago. At that time we had a lot of parties. Those were the wild days that we had. One day we had a big party on the weekend, and on Monday morning, I woke up and Dorothy wasn't there. The house was in a mess. We partied all night and ruined the house. So Dorothy wasn't there. Later that day she showed up with our young boy on her back in an amutiq. She confronted me, one on one. She told me I have to make a choice.

N/N: Gee, that's pretty serious.

PK: I wasn't even scared at the time. I was too crazy. OK, not crazy, but too wild. Not concerned.

N/N: How old were you?

PK: My late 20s. She confronted me and told me I had to make a choice at that time. The question was, "Which is it? Is it me or alcohol?" So I had the choice between her and my drinking problem.

N/N: So you made the decision that day?

PK: Yes. That put me here today. Otherwise I probably never would have survived the routine I was living at that time. It was one of the greatest achievements of my life. I was pushing my family away. I had to get them back.