Panniqtuuq (May 10/04) - Paralyzed by polio at 18, Davidee Arnakak knows how difficult it is for people with disabilities to live in Nunavut.

"The biggest challenge disabled people face is, they are stuck at home," he said. "People who are physically handicapped can't go outside."

Davidee Arnakak is working to raise awareness of handicapped issues in Nunavut. He said disabled people are being forgotten about in the territory. - Neils Christensen/NNSL photo

He's one of the lucky few, and is able to get around his hometown thanks to generosity of Panniqtuuq residents.

They helped him get an off-road wheelchair last year. Without it, he'd be unable to get around on the hamlet's gravel roads.

"Those city tires made it really difficult to go anywhere," said Arnakak. "They just aren't good enough."

On May 3, Arnakak spoke to mayors and other delegates gathered for the Nunavut Association of Municipalities.

Arnakak said that people with disabilities have been forgotten about in the territory.

"We have to go outside of Nunavut if we want treatment," he said. "There is no help for the handicapped in Nunavut."

The mayors agreed in a resolution that they would lobby the territorial government to provide the task force with money to complete a survey to determine the number of people with disabilities living in Nunavut, as well as other projects.

The survey came out of a recent Disabilities Task Force meeting in Iqaluit.

"We have numbers from 1999 but we would like updated information," Arnakak said.