Qirngnuq wins Netsilik in byelection
Training and housing in Kugaaruk and Taloyoak top priorities
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, February 15, 2016
NETSILIK
Emiliano Qirngnuq is the constituency of Netsilik's newest MLA after a byelection Feb. 8.
From Kugaaruk, Qirngnuq will now represent both his community and the community of Taloyoak. He replaces Jeannie Ugyuk, who resigned the seat Nov. 9 after the leadership forum of the Nunavut legislative assembly saw her ousted as minister of Family Services.
Qirngnuq says he hadn't earlier considered getting into politics.
"The thing that set it off is a friend asked me if I could run for MLA," he told Nunavut News/North shortly after his win.
"After I thought about it, I said, 'yes.'"
Yes meant competing in the race against former MLA John Ningark and Tars Angutingunirk of Kugaaruk and Wesley Totalik Sr. and Joseph Quqqiaq of Taloyoak.
Qirngnuq led the five candidates with 137 votes, beating out the closest contender, Angutingunirk, with 116 votes. John Ningark won 65 votes, while Totalik Sr. followed closely with 64 votes and Quqqiaq with 57.
Voter turnout was 59 per cent with 446 votes out of a possible 751 cast. Voters represented most strongly in Kugaaruk, with 69 per cent to Taloyoak's 51 per cent.
Qirngnuq campaigned in Taloyoak, as well as in his own community. In Taloyoak, he discussed with residents what they would like to see in their community.
Qirngnuq, who has previously managed the Kugaaruk co-op store, mentions training as a top issue, with a focus on business training.
"Like construction and contracting," he said.
Housing, of course, is also on the list of priorities.
"That's one thing, when I was in Taloyoak, people mentioned when I talked on the radio," Qirngnuq said, adding the housing shortage is an ongoing issue in Taloyoak, as well as in Kugaaruk.
"It seems to be pretty much the same all over Nunavut."
When Qirngnuq received the call saying he'd won, he could hardly believe it.
"But later on that same evening, people started calling congratulating. That's when I started believing I'd won the election."
One of the greatest challenges the new MLA foresees is time spent away from home in the capital. Sittings of the legislative assembly can last several weeks at a time. But his family members are as supportive of him now that he's won as when he was campaigning.
Catching up in the legislative assembly shouldn't be a problem, he said, because he likes to read and he is accustomed to paperwork.
The winter sitting begins Feb. 24.
