Iqaluit (May 03/04) - The mayor of Iqaluit has a goal to see more women involved in municipal politics.

The city is working with Canadian Heritage to set up a committee whose goal will be providing women with more options to become involved in their community.

"This committee would look at eliminating some barriers women face," said Hannah Uniuqsaraq, program officer for Canadian Heritage.

The project is an initiative started by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Last year, Iqaluit was one of six cities across Canada included in a report on problems women face in local government.

"The report shows that women face a lot of boundaries," Uniuqsaraq said.

Sheutiapik said she would like to see workshops created for women in Iqaluit. From there, she said they can hopefully expand the program to include other communities in Nunavut.

"We want to start out small. Our ultimate goal would be to have a program for the entire territory. This is something all women could benefit from," she said.

"We don't want to make this a complicated process. It's about setting up an environment where women feel comfortable to speak up," Uniuqsaraq said.

Currently there are five female mayors in Nunavut. Uniuqsaraq said that is a good start, but it could be better.

"We have to show our support to each other and strengthen our positions," she said.

Sheutiapik said they hope to get about $10,000 to organize workshops.