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A visit to remember Rankin cadets thrilled to interact with Prime Minister
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, September 18, 2013
KANGIQLINIQ/RANKIN INLET
A group of cadets were thrilled to have been given the opportunity to welcome and interact with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Rankin Inlet this past month.
Members of the 3019 Rankin Inlet Cadet Corps welcome Prime Minister Stephen Harper to their community on Aug. 21, 2013. - Jason Ransom/PMO photo
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The Rankin cadets' commanding officer, 2nd Lieut. Dorothy Tootoo, said 18 cadets who attend school at Maani Ulujuk Ilinnairvik and recent Grade 12 graduate Lewis Sammurtok formed the group which met Harper after his plane landed at Rankin's FOL site.
She said you could feel the excitement grow among the cadets as the Prime Minister exited his plane and prepared to meet them.
"After we greeted the Prime Minister at the FOL, a number of the cadets went to the community hall in hopes of having their pictures taken with him," said Tootoo.
"I've been involved with the Rankin cadets for the past nine years, and this was the first time we had the chance to greet our Prime Minister, so the kids thought that was pretty cool.
"It was a pretty big deal to them.
"They were very proud to be a part of his (Harper) visit."
Corps elder Louisa Issaluk joined the cadet greeting party to meet Harper.
Tootoo said she was extremely pleased one of the corps elders was able to be part of the arrival group.
She said elder Tutalik Tudlik was lighting the qulliq at the community hall, so she wasn't able to be at the FOL, and fellow corps elder Violet Twyee also couldn't attend.
"One of our little cadets (Lester Kanayok) couldn't come to the FOL because he had an eye appointment, so he wanted very, very badly to go to the community hall to have his picture taken with the Prime Minister.
"In hindsight, he actually could have made it to the FOL because the Prime Minister was so late arriving, but they didn't want us leaving and then having to come back into a secure area, so we couldn't go get him.
"That photo was pretty darn important to him and, even though we weren't in uniform, we did manage to get our pictures taken with the Prime Minister, so it all turned out OK."
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