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NUNAVUT
When it comes to the price of fuel, no news is good news. For the fourth consecutive year, gasoline and home heating fuel prices in Nunavut have either decreased or remained the same.

Community and Government Services Minister Lorne Kusugak garnered applause with this announcement Nov. 1.

The GN purchased at a lower price 71 million litres of its total 210 million-litre annual fuel resupply.

This includes home heating fuel, all grades of gasoline, jet A fuel and naphtha, which was clarified the following day in legislature.

"I remember last year when the price went up 10 cents for jet A fuel," said Quttiktuq MLA Ron Elliott.

"The airlines were very concerned and they ended up increasing the freight rates and our ticket costs too, so I hope that our airlines will follow suit with the Government of Nunavut and not increase their rates, which they seem to do on an annual basis."

It has also previously been an issue with there being inadequate storage for fuel at facilities in Rankin Inlet, Grise Fiord and Sanikiluaq, which have run out of petroleum products in recent years.

"As far as we know at this moment, we have adequate supplies of petroleum products in all the communities. That's not to say if there becomes a matter where airplane traffic is increased for reasons unbeknownst to us, that they become short, but at this time our calculations are that we should not run low," said Kusugak.

More than words

The writing is on the wall - and signs, and documents - for government and public institutions as Nunavut's language legislation pushed ahead last week.

The Uqausivut Plan, tabled in the legislature Oct. 30, spells out steps for territorial departments and public agencies to oblige the Official Languages Act and Inuit Language Protection Act, which are law in Nunavut. The plan lists several strategic objectives for the two acts, and lays out obligations for public institutions.

Included in the plan are: More translation services; proper government use of Inuit languages on signs and documents; improved access to emergency, search and rescue and dispatch services in Inuit languages; language selection when calling head offices; more legal translation capacity in Inuktitut; and more translation of materials in Inuinnaqtun.

In addition to the Inuit Language Protection Act, which guarantees the right to Inuit-language education, the Uqausivut Plan also protects unilingual employees of the territorial government who choose to work in Inuktitut.

While not mandatory, the plan hopes to see more use of Inuit languages on public signs, posters and commercial advertising; reception and customer services available to the general public in Inuit languages; a Language Award Program to promote achievements by organizations; a one-time support to municipalities updating road and building signage; and language training for municipal employees.

"It is the responsibility of every community, organization and individual in Nunavut to keep our languages alive," said Language Minister James Arreak in a statement. "I ask for a commitment from all Nunavummiut to do their part in implementing Nunavut's language legislation.

Search-and-rescue centres urged

At Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.'s annual general meeting, members voted to push the Government of Canada for a Nunavut-based search-and-rescue centre.

Search-and-rescue missions for Nunavummiut are currently carried out on a largely volunteer basis by community members or from centres located in the south, thousands of kilometres away.

Community volunteers are supported with funding to cover gas, food and expendables during a search with an annual budget of $50,000.

The Nunavut Emergency Management annual report tabled in the legislature on Nov. 1 cited 281 rescued individuals who were lost or stranded in 2011, and 163 official search-and-rescue operations.

'Movember' in the legislative assembly

Speaker Hunter Tootoo had to do a double-take during question period on Nov. 1 when a typically bearded MLA for Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay, Ron Elliott stood up.

"I was worried the sergeant-at-arms was going to have me removed," Elliott joked.

Elliott was clean shaven on the first of the month to mark the beginning of "Movember" in which men grow moustaches to raise funds and awareness for male health, especially prostate cancer. He and fellow MLA, Minister of Health and Social Services Keith Peterson, will sport Movember moustaches for the month.

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