Eetoolook back for four years
'Serving people is my goal,' says Nunavut Tunngavik Inc's returning vice president
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 15, 2014
NUNAVUT
James Eetoolook won 52 per cent, or 3,284 votes, to return as Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.'s (NTI) vice president Dec. 8.
On seeking re-election, Eetoolook says, "The work is never done when it comes to the implementation of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement."
Jesse Mike of Iqaluit trailed behind Eetoolook with 33 per cent, or 2,074 votes, and Douglas Aggark of Chesterfield Inlet finished third with 15 per cent, or 964 votes.
Eetoolook is expected to serve as vice-president until 2018. He will also serve on NTI's executive committee, board of directors, and as chair of NTI's Inuit Social and Cultural Development Advisory Committee and the Inuit Wildlife and Environment Advisory Committee.
In 1982, the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut – the precursor to Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated – was established with the goal of negotiating and settling the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Eetoolook was a founding member and has sat on the board ever since.
"Right from day one, my thinking was 'We have to implement the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. We don't stop here. It's continuous'."
The two specific areas of interest for Eetoolook, as denoted by the committees on which he serves as chairperson, are implementing articles in the land claims agreement that deal with wildlife and socio-cultural issues.
"There's no end to those issues. The population of Nunavut is getting bigger all the time, and so are the social problems getting larger.
"And, for the wildlife, hunters and people need to eat country food – the store-bought food is very expensive. Some of the wildlife has limitations, we have more hunters and we're sharing wildlife with other jurisdictions – like Western Arctic, Northern Quebec, Labrador, Greenland, United States and Russia – so the work never ends."
In particular, Eetoolook would like to see improved social-program delivery through the Government of Nunavut.
"We need to see the Inuit culture to be adopted more into the delivery of programs by the Nunavut government and Canadian government. We have a different culture than any other jurisdiction in Canada so we need to see our way of dealing with things.
"I think it's workable," he adds.
The same goes for wildlife.
"I've been involved with wildlife since my birth. I come from a hunting family, a trapping family. It will be in my blood until I die."
Finally, he says, the land claims agreement is supposed to benefit everyone, the entire collective.
"That's our goal and we need others to work with us."
He lists regional associations, communities, elders, youth, women and the territorial and federal governments as partners working together for implementation.
Looking ahead to the coming year, seismic testing in the Baffin region is one issue that will likely heat up.
"We've been dealing with this issue for some time in the past. We have tools in place – which is the land claims agreement – and we know more now, too, about what is needed up here and what is not. We don't want to do it blindly.
"But we also see that the North needs revenue to operate more effectively. Handouts from the government are not the answer."
The multi-pronged $1-billion lawsuit brought against the Government of Canada by NTI, with various matters in various states of advancement, is expected to go to trial in 2015. NTI alleges that the government is failing to meet requirements under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
"That's an ongoing thing. Our decision was legitimate to take it to court. The Canadian government is not implementing the agreement the way they should. They have to live up to their commitments. Hopefully the outcome will satisfy everyone – the government and the beneficiaries of the agreement."
Does Eetoolook tire of repeating statements year after year regarding the land claims agreement?
"Work is work. Serving people is my goal," said Eetoolook.
On election day, only about 31 per cent of Inuit beneficiaries turned out to vote. In previous years, 2006 held the low at 23 per cent, while 2010 peaked at 35 per cent. NTI has made a variety of attempts to increase those numbers. In 2006, an "I am Inuk" bracelet campaign was launched prior to elections and this year, NTI held a public service announcement contest for Grade 9 students throughout the territory.
