INUVIK - Nellie Cournoyea kept her seat as chair and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, winning a landslide victory against her two opponents, Eddie Dillon of Tuktoyaktuk and Richard McLeod of Inuvik, on Jan. 25.

Forty-two directors from the settlement communities, including Inuvik, Aklavik, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Tuktoyaktuk and Ulukhaktok, cast votes in the election. Cournoyea received 37 votes, while Dillon got the remaining five.

Cournoyea, who lives both in Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, was first elected as chair and CEO of IRC in January 1996. This will be her eighth three-year term.

Once the candidate nominations process closed Jan.11, the candidates visited each of the six communities to communicate their platforms.

A candidates' forum was held at the IRC office foyer Jan. 20, where Dillon had some sharp criticism for the organization.

In front of an audience of about 25 people, Dillon accused the IRC of not being accountable to its beneficiaries, who he said "don't have a say in the way the IRC is run."

He also took aim at one of the corporation's biggest companies, Norterra, which is run by the Inuvialuit Development Corporation - IRC's business arm - and Nunasi Corporation, which is owned by the Inuit of Nunavut. Dillon, who's a former director of IDC, said the company is losing massive amounts of money.

"Leadership should be accountable," he said. "Right now I don't see much accountability."

Cournoyea said the Inuvialuit corporate group is financially "solid." But she said NorTerra, which is a parent company to businesses such as Northern Industrial Sales, Canadian North and Northern Transportation Company Ltd (NTCL), is struggling.

When asked by an audience member what the IRC is doing to remedy the problem, Cournoyea said the president and chief financial officer of NTCL had been fired and that a financial manager had been hired to try to straighten out NorTerra's finances. She added that no money for the IRC was being spent by NorTerra.

McLeod, a welder, had a platform focused on developing industry within the settlement communities in anticipation of the proposed Mackenzie Valley Gas Project. He also repeatedly said throughout the forum that IRC should sever its ties with Nunasi Corporation.

Nothing good has ever come from that partnership, said McLeod.

"We have to start investing more in our own," he said.

Dillon, who's currently the chair of the Northwest Territories Water Board, touted his organizational skills.

"Let's plan so we can make the best use of our investments," he said.

Each of the candidates appeared optimistic about the pipeline project and emphasized the importance of the territorial and federal governments pitching in to improve infrastructure in preparation for it. Cournoyea pointed out her frustration at the delays of the Joint Review Panel, as well as her concerns that the report's 176 recommendations may result in jacking up the cost of the project so high that it will be much harder for proponents to find financing.

Some beneficiaries expressed an interest in having a grassroots election to determine the CEO and chair positions. None of the candidates opposed that idea, as long as it would be contained within the settlement communities.

Cournoyea, one of the original negotiators and signatories of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, stressed the importance of advocating education among Inuvialuit and finding ways to get beneficiaries more involved in the governance of the IRC.

"I'm so committed to the organization, to the well-being of the Inuvialuit," she said. "I don't see myself taking any less of an interest ever, ever."