Pita Aatami aiming for Nunavik self-governance

Incumbent president of Makivvik Corp. faces 2 opponents in Feb. 1 presidential election

By Cedric Gallant - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Nunatsiaq News is publishing profiles of the three candidates for Makivvik Corp. president ahead of the organization’s 2024 election.

Pita Aatami says he wants self-government for Nunavik.

The 64-year-old politician faces two opponents in his run for a second consecutive term as president of Makivvik Corp., the organization that represents Inuit in the region. The election is set for Feb. 1.

Aatami was also Makivvik president from 1998 to 2012 and has held several other high-ranking political positions in Nunavik over the years.

“We were forced into an agreement that we did not want,” he said in a phone interview, referring to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, which Inuit in Nunavik signed in 1975 with the Quebec government.

He said the deal was reached using Quebec’s laws and rules, never taking into consideration that Nunavik’s Inuit had never signed an agreement in the past.

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‘It’s like Las Vegas’: Iqaluit elder urges council to act on public drinking

Lew Phillip proposes limiting daily purchases at beer and wine store

Iqaluit elder Lew Phillip speaks to Iqaluit city councillors during a meeting Tuesday. He wants council to ask the GN to consider lowering daily purchase limits at the city’s beer and wine store. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)

By Jeff Pelletier - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An Iqaluit elder wants city council to take action over public drinking — an issue he says has gotten worse since the city’s beer and wine store opened in 2017.

Lew Phillip, an educator and retired RCMP officer, asked council at Tuesday’s meeting to consider asking the Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Commission to lower purchase limits at the store.

Currently, people are allowed to purchase up to 24 cans of beer and coolers per day.

Speaking in Inuktitut, he said elders and children suffer the most from alcohol-related incidents in the community.

“It’s like Las Vegas,” Phillip said, describing the way he said he has seen people drink in public around Iqaluit.

“Our elders are in fear due to alcohol daily and through the night.”

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Former mayor Kenny Bell proposed closing down the store in 2022, but the GN said that would undo progress that’s been made to curb bootlegging.

Last summer, the RCMP warned residents of thefts that were happening in the vicinity of the store. Those incidents prompted the GN to hire security to patrol the site.

Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone, whose riding includes the store, rose in the legislature last fall to call for action on public intoxication

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