Kitikmeot Inuit took charter to meeting
Airline code sharing among organization's most urgent concerns
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, October 26, 2015
KITIKMEOT
The Kitikmeot Inuit Association's (KIA) annual general meeting (AGM) held Oct. 5 to 7 resulted in many resolutions, but none more immediate and pressing than one regarding Northern airline code sharing.
While many resolutions are crafted in separate working groups of women, elders and youth, the code-sharing issue came from all delegates.
"With code sharing, they say the prices never changed," president Stanley Anablak said. "But to get from Cambridge Bay to Kugluktuk (except one day of the week), or Taloyoak or Gjoa Haven or Kugaaruk to Cambridge Bay, everyone - friends, family members, employees - have to be routed through Yellowknife."
Routing through Yellowknife means costly overnight hotel stays and other expenses.
"For example, we had to bring all of our delegates (to the AGM). There were 32 members we had to fly from the other communities. If we were to bring them through Yellowknife, that's extra honoraria costs, extra hotel costs, per diems. And if they get stuck in Yellowknife (which frequently happens) that's an extra day or two."
There is also spoilage of food and problems with blood samples.
To solve the problem, KIA hired a charter instead of risking an extra $20,000 on delegates that might not even arrive at the AGM on time to participate.
However, individuals cannot hire a charter and that's just the tip of the iceberg, as the resolution makes clear:
"Whereas, delegates expressed concerns with relation to scheduled air service causing delays in delayed medical travel, freight delays such as prescription medications deliveries being delayed, impacts on Canada Post mail delivery and passenger service delays, and a drastic reduction in available flights in Kitikmeot communities, increased cost of air fares, which causes residents of the Kitikmeot who depend on air travel services, much grief."
The KIA will be lobbying the airlines after Anablak and executive director Paul Emingak after Canadian North vice-president of scheduled services, Peter McCart, made a presentation to the delegates, stating, "Code share is working for the airlines."
Resolutions also came out of the working groups of women, elders and youth, said Emingak.
The need for youth centres in every community was identified during the inquest into the high rate of suicide held in September as one of many items in Nunavut's Suicide Prevention Strategy that failed to be implemented. The Kitikmeot has youth centres in two of three of their communities.
Of 12 resolutions youth made to the assembly was a resolution which calls on the KIA to support development of youth centres in all Kitikmeot communities.
Anablak said the KIA will lobby the hamlets and the GN.
"In most cases, it's that a building is not available, or operating costs. Those are the major factors in not having youth centres in these communities," said Anablak.
The remaining 11 youth resolution are succinct and clearly have an intention to ensure youth succeed in education and in life.
