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Candidates ready for election

Northern News Services
Published Monday, October 20, 2008

NUNAVUT - Two candidates have been acclaimed and one riding is uncontested in the upcoming territorial election.

Only 46 candidates came forward overall, around half of the 82 candidates in the 2004 territorial election.

Cambridge Bay MLA Keith Peterson had no challengers, while Tagak Curley was acclaimed for the second time in Rankin Inlet North.

No candidates came forward for South Baffin, and a by-election will be set later.

The following candidates are running in the upcoming Nunavut territorial election:

AMITTUQ

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Joanna Haulli Quassa
Joanna Haulli Quassa was born in Kapuivik, near Iglulik, and has lived most of her life there. A graduate of Nunavut Teaching Education Program, she worked for the government for 19 years. She was a teacher for nine years, including the three years she spent producing Inuktitut teaching materials and the seven years she spent with the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth as IQ co-ordinator, director of community programs, director of policy and planning and manager of heritage. Her reason for running is to be a better advocate and support to the Amittuq region. She would like to prioritize on issues related to health, training, education and community needs. She also feels that the needs of both communities have been neglected too long.

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Louis Tapardjuk
Louis Tapardjuk was born on Jan. 30, 1953 northwest of Iglulik, the community where he was raised and where he currently resides with his wife Lucie and their three children. A former councillor and mayor of Iglulik, he was active with the Nunavut Land Claim process as a negotiator and board member for the then Tungavik Federation of Nunavut, and as president of the Baffin Region Inuit Association, now the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. Outspoken on Inuit culture and language, Tapardjuk was appointed Minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth and Minister of Human Resources after being elected to the Nunavut legislature in 2004. He took on the Finance portfolio in February 2008 and transferred his Human Resources portfolio a couple of months later to a new minister.

ARVIAT

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Peter Kritaqliluk
Peter Kritaqliluk was born and raised in Arviat. Married with 11 children, he has previously served on the local education council, hunters and trappers organization, Keewatin Regional Council, the Nunavut Planning Commission and on the Arviat hamlet council as councillor, deputy mayor and mayor for two terms. Kritaqliluk is presently the chair of the Nunavut Implementation Training Committee and secretary-treasurer for the Kivalliq Inuit Association. He said his main issues and concerns are public housing, the shortage of nurses and peace officers, the extension of the Arviat runway, fuel subsidies, alternative energy and supporting the creation of a road from Manitoba to Nunavut.

Sheila Napayok
(profile unavailable)

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Daniel Shewchuk
Dan Shewchuk has lived in Arviat for seven years working for Nunavut's Department of Environment as wildlife manager for the Kivalliq region. He has 29 years experience working with the government, including 22 years in Manitoba. With a population of approximately 2,400 people, Arviat has been left out on many issues, including fair community funding, he said. Shewchuk said he believes that the Nunavut Government can address these issues. He feels that Arviat needs a strong, co-ordinated, community voice to take to the legislative assembly. If elected as MLA, he said he will be dedicated to make Arviat and Nunavut a better place to live.

BAKER LAKE

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Elijah Amarook
Elijah Amarook from Baker Lake was a wildlife officer for 15 years, a hunters and trappers organization manager for three years and a wildlife monitor with Areva for two years. He has had experience on the District Education Authority for two years and is heading into his second year with Baker Lake Search and Rescue. A graduate of Maani Uluyuk high school in Rankin Inlet, Amarook has a background in business administration, small business accounting, general law enforcement and oil spill response. As a candidate, one of his main concerns is housing, given that many families require individual housing units as opposed to apartments. He is also focused on health care and would like to see more accommodations made for the elderly and very ill who have special requirements. Amarook also believes in the importance of having spouses present during childbirth and seeing the enlargement and renovation of suite 2080 at the local health centre. He would also like to see environmental concerns addressed at the federal level.

Moses Aupaluktuq
Moses Aupaluktuq is a father of two from Baker Lake. A Nunavut Sivuniksavut graduate, he has taken numerous professional and personal development courses and is well travelled. Aupaluktuq has had first-hand experiences at the local, regional and national level in terms of youth, social development, economic development, judicial, educational and land claim issues. He is the First National Inuit Youth Council president and Inuit Circumpolar Youth Council vice-chair. Aupaluktuq has presented to the Senate Standing Committee on Gun Control Legislation of the effect gun control will have on Northerners and has served three summer student terms with the RCMP in two communities. A prison guard with over three years experience, he is also a volunteer firefighter and has served as a Baker Lake Health Committee member, Kivalliq Partners in Development Corporation president and chairman of the board, Nunavut Community Economic Development Organization vice-chair, Nunavut Investment Review Committee board member and Nunavut Regional Project Management Advisory Committee board member.

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David Simailak
David Simailak was born and raised in Baker Lake. He was educated in Baker Lake, Fort Churchill and Ottawa. Married to Jean, he has three sons and two grandchildren. He is running for MLA for Baker Lake again because he said he would like to keep working with the hamlet council to get a new jet airstrip for Baker Lake, a new community hall, fencing for the sewage lagoon, a larger garbage dump and sewage lagoon and a new water treatment plant. Simailak said he believes in ensuring development occurs responsibly, while maximizing benefits for the people of Baker Lake. Much has been done to train local people in Morrisburg, Ont., and running pre-mining and pre-employment courses at Arctic College, he said, but more needs to be done to get Baker Lake Inuit trained for the jobs, to develop business opportunities and to make the Government of Nunavut more aggressive in providing greater support to individuals and industry.

CAMBRIDGE BAY

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Keith Peterson (Acclaimed)
Born in Whitehorse, Keith Peterson lives in Cambridge Bay and is married with two sons. A graduate of Sir John Franklin high school and the University of Alberta, he was elected as a Member of the Nunavut legislative assembly in 2004. He has served as mayor of Cambridge Bay and director, vice-president and president of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities, while he was mayor. Peterson has also served as the chairman of the Kitikmeot Law Centre, negotiator at the Kitikmeot Inuit Association and secretary-treasurer of the affiliate Kitikmeot Corporation. He has established and managed the Kitikmeot Economic Development Commission and the Nunavut Community Economic Development Organization. In his spare time, Peterson is also a Cambridge Bay minor hockey coach.

KUGLUKTUK

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Donald Havioyak
Born and raised in Kugluktuk, Donald Havioyak is currently employed as a community relations officer for Oz Minerals Canada. He has served as a councillor and mayor of Kugluktuk, as president of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association and as a member of the first Nunavut legislative assembly. He is running because he feels he can be a good leader, voice and representative for Kugluktumiut. He said his past experience will make him a good leader and representative, not only for Kugluktuk, but also for Nunavut. Havioyak's main campaign issues are the cost of living in the North, climate change, housing, education and most of all, health issues.

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Peter Taptuna
A proud bilingual Inuk, father, husband, grandfather and homeowner, Peter Taptuna has worked for the Kugluktuk HTO and the Business Arm Manager for the past nine years. A trained heavy duty mechanics journeyman, he was previously employed with Echo Bay Mines and spent three years in the on-land oil and gas drilling industry, with an additional 10 years experience in the offshore industry. A graduate of Nunavut Arctic College with a diploma in managerial accounting, corporate and contract law, micro/macro marketing, business administration and human resources management, Taptuna has served as a councillor and deputy mayor for the hamlet of Kugluktuk and is currently serving as director and chair for the Kitikmeot Corporation, board member for the Nunavut Development Corporation and volunteer director, and search manager and co-ordinator for the Kugluktuk Search and Rescue Society. Campaigning on all issues that are important to the wellbeing of families, he is running based on a desire to represent his community in an effective manner, to open communications with all age groups and to bring the government closer to the people.

NANKULUK

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Patterk Netser
Patterk Netser was born in Coral Harbour, where he currently lives with his wife Mona and their six children. First elected to the Nunavut legislature in a byelection in 2003 for the riding of Nanulik, he was re-elected by his constituents in the February 2004 Nunavut general election. Before entering into public life, Netser worked for the Northern Canada Power Commission and as a private entrepreneur in his community. His previous elected positions include chairperson of the Coral Harbour District Education Authority and membership on the Keewatin Divisional Board of Education. Netser has served as the deputy speaker of the Nunavut legislative assembly and was also a member of the Ajauqtiit Standing Committee on Health and Education. In 2006 he was elected to sit on the Executive Council of Nunavut and was appointed as minister of environment and minister responsible for the Workers Compensation Board. He later became minister of Economic Development and Transportation and minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation.

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Johnny Ningeongan
Johnny Ningeongan was born in Coral Harbour in 1950, and was married to his wife Elizabeth in 1970. Together, they have eight children. Ningeongan has been around the municipal government setting for more than 30 years and has been an employee, councillor, and mayor for five terms during that time. He served as president of Nunavut Association of Municipalities during the latter part of his mayorship. Ningeongan currently sits as Coral Harbour representative on the Kivalliq Inuit Association and was selected to sit on the Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated board as a Kitikmeot Inuit Association representative. He said he feels he can contribute more to the communities of Coral Harbour and Chesterfield Inlet, as well as the people of Nunavut, if he gets elected for MLA. He has a broad knowledge of issues and how they impact Nunavummiut, he said. He said it is time an elected member actually lives and spends more time at home working with the people in Chesterfield Inlet and Coral Harbour.

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Harry Tootoo
Harry Attungala Tootoo was born and raised in Churchill, Man. He completed his Grade 12 in Fredericton, N.B., where he later became president of the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council of Fredericton. Tootoo then moved to Rankin Inlet, where he started his own business. Soon after moving to Rankin Inlet, he became president of the Pularvik Kablu Friendship Centre and chair for the Association for Community Living. He then moved to Arviat with his partner. Later the couple moved to be with family in Chesterfield Inlet, where they now reside. Tootoo returned to Rankin Inlet in 1999 to do his share with the proud and happy people of Nunavut, he said. He said his heart is dismayed at where Nunavut is now and where it is heading. Nunavut going the way of the buffalo, he contended. Tootoo said he feels Nunavummiut need to have more say regarding what happens to their resources and to be able to provide for their youth, elders and all Nunavummiut.

NATTILIK

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Paul Ikuallaq
Paul Ikuallaq said he believes that the Government of Nunavut needs to do more to help Nunavummiut, including changing the Income Support program to make life easier for families. He is also calling on the GN to do a better job of maintaining subsidized housing and improving the housing situation across the territory. The federal government needs to have a greater presence in the region to help people with passports, income tax and other important federal issues, he said. More facilities and recreational activities are needed for youth to keep them safe and out of trouble, he added. Ikuallaq also would like to see health centres provide transportation to and from the airport for any passengers who have to travel for medical reasons. He said he feels that the most important responsibility for an MLA is to be a voice for his constituents, to try and correct wrongs and make life better for residents of Taloyoak and Gjoa Haven.

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Louie Kamookak
Louie Kamookak was born at Nattisikuvik. He and his wife Josephine live in Gjoa Haven and have five children and two grandchildren. An avid hunter, fisherman, experienced dog musher and adventurer, he currently is serving as the director of hamlet housing for Gjoa Haven. He has previously served as the hamlet's housing foreman and as a journeyman housing maintainer for the Kikitak Housing Association. He is also currently operating a corrections camp near Gjoa Haven and is the chairperson of the Nunavut Development Corporation. Kamookak has previously served as president of the Nunavut Heritage Trust Board and as a member of the Kitikmeot Hunters and Trappers Association Board in Kugluktuk. In Gjoa Haven, he has served as chairman of the HTO, chairman of the historical society, chairman of the heritage centre and as a hamlet councillor. His campaign is focused on unemployment, education, local business, health issues and housing upgrades.

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Enuk Pauloosie
Born in Taloyoak in 1961, Enuk Pauloosie and his wife Celine Mary Pauloosie have been married for almost 29 years and have three boys, a daughter and eight grandchildren. Presently the environmental land affairs officer for Economic Development and Transportation's Transportation Planning in Gjoa Haven, Pauloosie has previously worked as a planning and lands administrator for the hamlet of Gjoa Haven, a lands officer for the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, a police officer with the RCMP in Baker Lake and Cambridge Bay, and a housing manager for the Kitiktak Housing Association. As a candidate, he is concerned about housing issues and education, including the need for better support programs for students furthering their education and more Inuit traditional values taught in local schools. He is also campaigning on health and social issues and would like to see the income support and elders pension reflect the cost of living. Economic growth, tourism offices and historical parks and municipal issues are also on his agenda.

Jeannie Ugyuk
Jeannie Kanayuk Ugyuk was born and raised in Taloyoak and has lived in the community all her life. She is married to Nauyaq Ugyuk and has three children. Ugyuk speaks Inuktitut fluently. Her grandparents helped raise her as a young child and taught her traditional cultural beliefs. An Arctic College graduate, Ugyuk has worked as a community social worker. She also taught preschool in her mother tongue at the Netsilik school for about five years and recently helped her family start a local construction company. Ugyuk served on hamlet council for two years, worked as a committee member on the local women's shelter and currently volunteers with the local Anglican vestry. She said she feels that her work and life experience have given her a unique understanding of the social problems and issues in Taloyoak and Gjoa Haven, which require the insight and action of strong leadership.

TUNUNIQ

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James Arvaluk
James Arvaluk was born on April 11, 1948 at Fury and Hecla Strait near Iglulik. Arvaluk went to school in Iglulik and also studied at Churchill Vocational Centre and Algonquin College in Ottawa. In Churchill, he was recruited by CBC and worked with Peter Mansbridge. Arvaluk also worked with the NWT government in 1969-1970 to help to set up hamlet council development. He joined Inuit Tapirisat of Canada in 1972 as director of communications and co-ordinator of land claims development and was elected as president of that organization in 1974, as well as president of the Baffin Region Inuit Association, which later became the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. Arvaluk was elected to the NWT legislative assembly in 1991 and again in 1999 in a new Nunavut Territory. He was elected to represent Pond Inlet in the 2006 byelection.

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Simon Merkosak
Simon Merkosak was born at Guys Bight traditional camp east of Pond Inlet in 1954. He is married to Jeeteeta Merkosak with six children. Merkosak has been trained in municipal administration and has worked as the senior administration officer for Pond Inlet. He has held other positions within the business sector and as a paralegal worker. Merkosak was elected as the chairperson of the Okpik Youth Club, director of Tununiq Sauniq Co-op Ltd and as mayor of Pond Inlet. He has also held appointments as deputy fire chief, board member for Community Futures, and the vice-chairperson of NWT Power Corporation. Merkosak currently serves as the chairperson for the Qulliq Energy Corporation and as a search and rescue member for Pond Inlet.

Elizirie Peterloosie
(profile unavailable)

HUDSON BAY

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Bill Fraser
Bill Fraser has lived in the NWT and Nunavut since 1974, and Sanikiluaq since 1995. His platform is centred on correcting wrongs from the past. He is proposing the re-settlement of South Camp on the Belcher Islands as a year-round outpost camp, with a trail system to get there. This would create jobs and choices. He is also proposing the enlargement of the Katitavik and the construction of the first community swimming pool for the purposes of recreation and safety. He said kids can't learn to swim in Sanikiluaq's very cold waters, but that skill would help save their life if they fall off a boat. He is also a community social services worker on a leave of absence from the GN to run in the election. His wife, children, and grandchildren, are all Nunavut Inuit Land Claim beneficiaries. He said he has dedicated his life to the service of Inuit, and will die in Nunavut (just hopefully a long, long time from now).

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Johnny Manning
Johnny Manning was born and raised in Cape Dorset and Kimmirut, and moved to Sanikiluaq in 2000. He married Lucy Manning in 2001. He got his start in politics in the 1990s, as constituency assistant to then-deputy premier Goo Arlooktoo. He later worked as constituency assistant to Peter Kattuk. Manning served on the board of the Nunavut Implementation Committee from 1996 to 1999. He is currently on the board of the Kakivak Association. As MLA, Manning would like to focus on issues concerning youth, such as the need for more recreation facilities. He said he would also like to find ways to bring dropouts back to school, and work on finding more housing.

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Allan Rumbolt
Allan Rumbolt has spent two years as a councillor in Sanikiluaq and two years on the District Education Authority. He said he would like to address issues surrounding roads, community recreation, hunting and the environment. His main political platform is to listen to the people and organizations of Sanikiluaq, and do what he can to achieve the community's goals, he said. Born in Bonivasta, Nfld., he has lived in Nunavut since 1987. He is 41 and married to Mina Ippak Rumbolt, who is from Sanikiluaq. They have a 14-year-old son, Garry. He has lived in Sanikiluaq since 1990, when he worked with the Northwest Company. He later worked as manager of the Qammaq Housing Association, before going back to school to learn how to operate heavy equipment. He now works for the Municipality of Sanikiluaq as heavy equipment operator.

IQALUIT CENTRE

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Hunter Tootoo
Hunter Tootoo was born in Rankin Inlet in 1963, and grew up living in both northern and southern Canada. He has worked in municipal and territorial governments, and also in the private sector. He has served on the boards of community groups and territorial organizations. Tootoo was elected MLA for Iqaluit Centre in 1999, and was re-elected in 2004. In the second legislative assembly he served as chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Accountability, and as a member of the Standing Committee on Health and Education, the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and Privileges, and the Management and Services Board. He said he believes the GN needs to lose its culture of fear and intimidation, and that government should be receptive, open, transparent and accountable. People deserve to have their elected officials tell them what they need to hear, and not what politicians want them to hear, Tootoo said.

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Madeleine Redfern
Madeleine Redfern has more than 20 years experience working on issues related to housing, education, employment and training, justice, community services, preschool child care, health care, business and economic development, poverty, property development and governance.She is currently contracted to work with the Qikiqtani Truth Commission, which is conducting an inquiry into government actions in the Eastern Arctic and the effect and consequences on Inuit.Redfern partially attributes her decision to run for politics to her work with the commission, having learned how government actions or inactions can affect people's lives. A graduate of the Akitsiraq law school, she has worked at Supreme Court of Canada, and intensively researched law and legislation. As one of the main functions of legislators is to make and pass laws, Redfern said she feels she is uniquely qualified for the job of MLA.

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Joe Sageaktook
Joe Sageaktook is 33 years old and has a common-law wife and two children, ages four and six. He was born and raised in Iqaluit, where he has been working as an electrician for the Nunavut Power Corporation for 12 years. Sageaktook ran unsuccessfully for the position of first vice-president of NTI in March 2006. He said he believes the best alternative to diesel power is nuclear power as we can manage the waste from nuclear energy. There are no greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear energy -- we all know that CO2 is contributing to climate change and is affecting the people of Nunavut, he said. He said he also believes that the implementation of the Nunavut Land Claim agreement is not going fast enough and he would like to get the ball rolling on this issue.

IQALUIT WEST

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Elisapee Sheutiapik
Elisapee Sheutiapik was raised and educated in Iqaluit. She is a mother of two sons and an avid sports enthusiast. She is the owner of the Grind & Brew, which she manages with her partner, Brian Twerdin. Since 1984, she's held various financial administration positions with the territorial governments (NWT and Nunavut) and NTI. She first served on Iqaluit city council in 2002. In 2003, she was elected as mayor of Iqaluit and represented the city as the first female mayor on the Canadian Capital Cities Organization. In 2006, she was acclaimed as mayor for another term. She was also president of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities since May 2006. As a concerned citizen and mayor of Iqaluit, last September she initiated a public consultation on the increase in emergency response due to violence and illegal drug and alcohol issues in Iqaluit. She said she feels it's time for change!

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Paul Okalik
Paul Okalik said leadership in government means getting things done. He said he wants to fight poverty by making sure his constituents are given every opportunity to benefit from Nunavut's improving economy. With a secure place to live, pride in who we are and access to education we can improve our quality of life, he said. He said by working together Nunavut has built the second fastest growing economy in the country, secured funding to build more than 700 housing units, is graduating more students than ever before and has strengthened its language and education laws. Okalik said the GN has more to do. He said he wants to continue investing in housing and education along with building an Inuit Heritage Centre and an all-terrain-vehicle hunting bridge over the Sylvia Grinnell River. Okalik said the next government must also focus on environmental matters. Eliminating single-use retail plastic bags is a start but with public support the GN will improve the management of the Iqaluit landfill site.

IQALUIT EAST

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Eva Aariak
Eva Aariak said she is passionate about language and culture. After entering the workforce as an adult educator, she then focused on teaching Inuktitut at the elementary and secondary levels. She later supported Inuktitut teachers and co-ordinated the publication of Inuktitut children and school books. She was appointment as Nunavut's first languages commissioner from 1999 to 2005, and again in 2008. Her recommendations to the legislative assembly helped prompt the creation of the Inuit Language Protection Act. Her experience also extends to the business world. As well as consulting on language and cultural issues, she owns and operates Malikaat, which sells Inuit clothing, tools and art. Until she announced her candidacy, she was the chair of the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce. Originally from Arctic Bay, Aariak has called Iqaluit home for 22 years. Having raised four children in Iqaluit, and now a grandmother, she is immersed in the daily life of her community.

Kakki Peter
Kakki Peter is 26 years old, and was born and raised in Iqaluit. He is a computer technician at QITC, and has edited the legislative assembly Hansard since 2005. He said he is running because he believes we need a younger, articulate voice that is representative of Iqaluit and Nunavut. There are some things he believes that the territorial government should take a leadership role in including having community freezers where hunters can drop off meat for members of the community to access. The Government of Nunavut's employment policies also need to be evaluated to ensure they are fair to beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries alike, he said. We need to know our community's needs. We also need to let them know what we are doing. To achieve this, he said he would set up regular meetings with the constituency. He would also appoint people to act as advisers, who could give him other perspectives to draw from, he said.

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Glenn Williams
Glenn Williams said he sees four big issues in this election: education; health; the need for an efficient and accountable government; and the need for respectable and honest leaders who support the concept of zero tolerance. Williams has lived in the North for more than 35 years, and raised his children and now grandchildren here. During this time he was a member of the RCMP and has worked for both the federal and territorial governments. He now works for NTI and owns a small business. Williams said he is particularly concerned with this government's ability to get the job done, pointing to the Canadian auditor general's frequent criticism of how the GN manages the public's money. Williams said he expects most people in Iqaluit East will agree with him that nine years of incompetence is enough. It's time for new ideas, standards and members in the legislative assembly, he said.

PANGNIRTUNG

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Looee Arreak
Looee Arreak grew up in Pangnirtung, where she said she developed a strong sense of language, culture and community. She is a mother of three children: Darcy, Kaaju and Eunice, and is married to James T. Arreak. In her home community she was active with initiatives like the music festival, youth dances and fundraisers. A talented singer, she recorded a CD called SAPILIQTAILIGIT (Don't Give Up). In 1999, Looee moved to Iqaluit to attend Arctic College, where she completed the Community Health Representative (CHR) course. Her first job as a CHR was in Iqaluit where she promoted healthy living in community and school settings. She later worked as a health policy analyst with the Government of Nunavut, and now with NTI. She pioneered the first Inuktitut daycare in Iqaluit and was involved with the start up of the Tasiuqtigiit Society preschool. Arreak said she has been a strong supporter of the development of midwifery and for Nunavummiut who suffer with disabilities.

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Adamie Komoartok
Adamie Komoartok has been a hamlet councillor in Pangnirtung in 1982, 1983, 2002 and 2006, and deputy mayor in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008. He has been the vice-chair of the Pangnirtung District Education Authority from 2000 to 2008. As a member and vice-chair of the Pujualussait Healing Committee, he has helped facilitate activities including personal and grief healing, teen self-esteem, self care, a trauma conference, young parents retreat, story-telling, video and drama workshop/Embrace Life, hip hop, youth counselling and suicide prevention. He has also helped facilitate the Young Men Life Skills, which brings young men out to Nettling Lake for two weeks a year to learn to live off the land and experience the areas where their ancestors used to go every summer. Since 1997, Komoartok has been a court worker for Maliganik Tukisiiniarvik Legal Services. He was also and observer/communicator for the Community Aerodrome Radio Station from 1984 to 1999.

RANKIN INLET NORTH

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Tagak Curley (Acclaimed)
For more than 40 years, Tagak Curley has served as a politician, administrator and Inuit business leader in Nunavut. Born in 1944 at a Coral Harbour hunting camp, he was raised in the Inuit tradition, but also attended local English schools. From 1966 to 1970, he worked as a development officer with the department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He was Repulse Bay settlement manager from 1970 to 1971, and was also the editor of the Keewatin Echo. In 1972, Curley was a founding member and the first president of the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada. At the territorial level, he was a member and cabinet minister in the legislative assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1979 to 1987. He has held many positions in business, and gained recognitions including the Order of Canada and a National Aboriginal Achievement Award. He was acclaimed as MLA for Rankin Inlet North in the Nunavut legislative assembly in 2004, and again this year.

RANKIN INLET SOUTH/WHALE COVE

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Levinia Brown
Levinia Brown was born in Dawson Inlet. Her first job was as a nursing assistant in a military hospital. She graduated from a nursing aide certification program in Manitoba in 1968, and worked in emergency wards across the country. She has served on the Keewatin Regional Health Board and the Keewatin Regional Education Authority. Brown was elected as MLA for Rankin Inlet South/Whale Cove in 2004, and served as deputy premier and minister of community and government services throughout her term. She also spent time as minister of Health and Social Services and minister responsible for Qulliit Nunavut Status of Women. After speaking with local residents, Brown said she believes some of the biggest issues are the need for more housing, more employment, docking facilities and enhanced search and rescue. She said she also wants to recognize the good work being done in each community, such as elder participation in schools, the food bank and RCMP Christmas hampers. The theme of her campaign is "honesty, integrity, leadership and role model."

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Lorne Kusugak
Lorne Kusugak is currently serving as the mayor of Rankin Inlet, and as the chief executive officer of the Nunavut Implementation Training Committee. This month, after much thought and discussion with his family, he said he decided to seek the honour of serving the people of Rankin Inlet and Whale Cove as their member in the legislative assembly. He was born and raised in Rankin Inlet. His father was a heavy equipment operator, and his mother was a homemaker and seamstress. He comes from a large family: seven boys and four girls. After attending high school in Yellowknife in the mid-1970s, he returned home to help his mom, he said. His first serious job was with the CBC, as the first reporter in Rankin Inlet. He worked as a broadcaster for almost 15 years in various positions in Rankin and Iqaluit. During those years he also served as a founding director of the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation.

QUTTIKTUQ

Levi Barnabas
Levi Barnabas was born on Jan. 24, 1964, at an outpost camp near Iglulik. He was first elected to the legislative assembly of the Northwest Territories in 1995, and was elected to the legislative assembly of Nunavut in 1999 and 2004. Prior to entering public life, Barnabas has worked as a constituency assistant to an elected MLA and as the assistant senior administrative officer for the hamlet of Arctic Bay. In the early 1990s he was chair of the Arctic Bay Housing Association and chair of the Arctic Bay Education Authority. Barnabas was also selected as the executive member of the Baffin Divisional Board of education He has served on the legislative assembly's standing committees on government operations and accountability, health and education, and rules and procedures and privileges. Barnabas has also served as chair of the full caucus Him and his wife Susanna are proud parents of three daughters, Lynn, Marie and Cynthia-Aglak, and two sons, Robert and Paingut.

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Ron Elliott
Ron Elliott has been a teacher and youth advocate in Arctic Bay since moving there in the early 1990s. He said he has been instrumental in bringing a number of suicide prevention and healing programs to the community, and is an award-winning coach and volunteer. Before working as an adult educator at the local Arctic College, he taught at Inuujaq school. He has been the director of the Arctic Bay District Education Authority since 2001. Elliott is the founder and chair of Nunavut Youth Consulting, a non-profit youth organization which works to revitalize the community and inspire young people. He has volunteered with the local cadets program since 1992, and now serves as lieutenant and commanding officer. He has also been active on the community's economic development committee, drug and alcohol education committee and recreation committee.

UQQUMMIUT

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James Arreak
James Arreak lives in Clyde River with his wife, children and grandchildren.He has been representing the riding of Uqqummiut for five years in the legislative assembly.The mandate of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement gave Nunavummiut 20 years to prepare for self-government, he said. As MLA, he was able to participate in the introduction and implementation of acts appropriate to Nunavummiut, he said. The legislative assembly had the pleasure of passing acts such as the Education Act, Midwifery Act, Inuit Language Protection Act and covered many inter-governmental issues. He participated in covering all issues of his last campaign, such as housing, culture and government, he said. The future looks bright, he said. He said he feels he is now experienced enough to represent constituents in a way that would be beneficial to all.There are unfinished issues from the last sitting, and he said he feels he is the right person to continue at working on this legislation.

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Igah Hainnu
Igah Hainnu was born and raised in Clyde River. She is married and has four children and eight grandchildren. She has nine siblings and very supportive parents, she said. She has been working since the age of 14. Her community involvement includes serving as a health committee member and church committee member. She has also served as hamlet councillor and deputy mayor, and was mayor of Clyde River from 2004 to 2006. She has been teaching high school students at Quluaq school for the past 16 years. Prior to her teaching career, she was an assistant senior administrative officer at the Municipality of Clyde River for 10 years. She is currently a lay reader for the church in the community. Her hobbies and interests include sewing, knitting, carving, camping and traditional skin/fur preparation. She said she has always enjoyed learning new things. She is interested in current events, and has always done her best to help others in her community, she said.

SOUTH BAFFIN - byelection Nov. 3

Zeke Ejesiak
(profile unavailable)

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Joannie Ikkidluak
Joannie Ikkidluak was born in a camp at Tinituqi near Kimmirut on June 10, 1945. He lived on the land all his life until moving to Kimmirut as a young man. This background in Inuit culture has given him experience in sustenance hunting and the importance of conservation. Ikkidluak got involved in local politics upon arriving in the settlement. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s he was a councillor and deputy mayor with the Lake Harbour Settlement Council and the Hamlet of Lake Harbour, and director of the local housing association. Ikkidluak was a founding member of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, and has been chair of the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board for 26 years. He has been a church committee member and lay leader since the 1960s. Ikkidluak's other interests are hunting and camping with family, travelling to see other pats of the country, carving to depict the animals Inuit hunt and conducting and playing the organ at his church.

Adamie Nuna
Adamie Nuna was born in Iqaluit in 1964, and lives with his common-law and three children in Cape Dorset. He is a carpentry apprentice and volunteer firefighter, with five years of experience in the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary. Nuna has board experience with the Kinngait Co-op and the Cape Dorset Hunters and Trappers Association, and has worked on the hamlet's municipal works and economic development sub-committees. He believes housing, education, health care and transportation are some of the big issues facing the constituency. Transportation for elders, the need for small craft harbours and suicide prevention are other issues he thinks need to be addressed.

Fred Schell
(profile unavailable)