1) What made you decide to seek another term on town council?

I believe in building community. With a long history of volunteering in Inuvik on boards, the district education authority (three terms), and now with a term on town council, I take the role of community service quite seriously. I prepare ahead of meetings, listen to constituents, ask questions, debate issues and offer solutions.

I also believe in a fair community, and that there is still work to be done to level the playing fields. Town council is often asked to choose winners (and by default, losers) with requests that come to council. My agenda as a councillor is simple: to set the guidelines and parameters to make sure that each and every resident, organization and business has as equal a chance at success as the next. Special interests play a vital role in our community, but one interest shouldn't trump another in a tax-base municipality just because they came to council first, or have a grandfathered clause that no other organization is able to access.

We are getting ready for an intense three to five years of infrastructure and housing builds in Inuvik, and military and airport upgrades SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” with longer-term community planning elements, including a new recreation facility, on the horizon. We need builders and business people on council, but we also need people with proven community service development experience who understand volunteerism, non-profit societies and the intricacies of working within two land claims eying self-government with a mix of demographics, and how that will also shape our future.

2) What have you learned from your first term?

Through my first term, I learned that you have to be prepared to come and work hard on behalf of the people. It is not, and should not be treated as a 'rubber stamp' position. Attendance counts SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” and actually showing up prepared to do the job you were elected to do isn't difficult.

I also learned that in small towns, myriad conflicts-of-interest can affect decision-making. I tried my best to declare my conflicts, no matter how mundane, but learned that personal ethics begins and ends with individuals. Having a strong council with backbone to be able to counter and avoid the conflicts is paramount.

Outside-of-the-box thinking works! We brought the first outside commercial service-industry investment in Inuvik in over 15 years with Lil Ava's SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” in directing administration to proactively reach out to commercial restaurant groups looking to expand SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” to let them know we are actually open for business in a sea of 3,500-person towns across Canada!

I learned that risk-taking plays with emotions, but when something makes practical sense to a group of leaders, anything is possible. Our council took the housing issue head-on with a calculated but informed risk that paid off in deciding to take advantage of economies of scale SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” to develop the 58 Carmichael lots, when we only had a request (and guaranteed sales interest at the time) for 24. We sold all 58 lots only nine months after making the call, and we are currently seeing new houses pop up weekly in our brand new neighbourhood.

3) What do you see as the big issues facing Inuvik this election?

I think it is important to qualify jurisdiction, and municipal limits, when speaking of issues that affect our community. The number one issue facing Inuvik and our residents is our ongoing drug problem, but aside from creating a legal and regulatory framework where support and social services can thrive, the municipality, as an entity, plays only a minor role in the fight.

The Midnight Sun Complex and Family Centre is in rough shape. It's usable for a while yet, but ultimately with a growing community with diverse programming and service needs, we need to commence this upcoming term what will no doubt be a 10+ year process to design, raise funds, plan for ongoing operations and maintenance costs, and build a modern-engineered and expanded multi-functional community complex.

The Arctic Development Expo/Arctic Emerging Technologies and Trade Show/Inuvik Petroleum Show (same show, different name) is a tired (and expensive) facade of what it once was, and needs to be completely re-thought as a modern trade show representative of our community SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” and our potential. If we are going to put all of our business development needs into one basket, we need to make sure it doesn't have any holes.

Meaningful youth employment and training, particularly for males, continues to be a problem in the Beaufort Delta. While limited as a municipality, we need to continue to work with post-secondary administrators to address the shortage of training and programs and talk about the growing need for modern trades (IT, communications, AI, data analysis) in the region.

Some of the debates during the last term of council dealt with bylaws SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” and the interpretation of by-laws. Committee review of bylaws was practically non-existent during the last term. This vitally important sub-committee of council needs to meet at least twice a year, and not once per term. Getting back to regular order and securing the full participation of council on sub-committees outside of the Monday/Wednesday meetings needs to be a priority of the next council.

4) How do you propose that these issues be resolved?

I am a big believer in collaboration. It's time for the power bases in Inuvik to leave their silos and begin to work together on building our community. When a town council learns about a new hotel, a massive community arts project or a new housing development at the same time as the public, too many secrets are being kept SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” and we aren't working as a whole towards a common goal.

The delayed-in-the-minister's-office community plan may help align some of the overall goals, but it will be through cooperative on-the-ground relationships, and real/meaningful consultation with our local Indigenous groups that we will see efficiencies, a reduction in potential redundancies and an adherence to an ongoing plan where all parties can thrive.

I recently had opportunity to design an anti-suicide logo and hoodie for the Inuvialuit and Gwich'in that incorporated both corporate logos. Social media lit up with comments on how nice it was to see both organizations working together on a micro level towards our region's youth mental health challenges. We know that true collaboration at a macro level is what our population wants and deserves.

We need to facilitate the environment to create conditions for investment through our economic development team. Similar to our success in proactively bringing in Lil Ava's to the MSC, we need to assess our community needs and aggressively court outside commercial dollars to the community. How will 'they' know that we have needs, that we support a regional base of 10,000 people, and have a strong, consistent wage structure as a government hub if nobody tells them? 

5) What is your favourite thing about Inuvik?

Inuvik means so much to my family. We moved here 18 years ago with three kids (including a newborn) and nine hockey bags, on a single contract to fix and run a struggling non-profit. We completed the contract, fell in love with the community, stayed, had another child and thrived because of the opportunities, for sure, but more importantly, because of the people.

Inuvik is a multi-cultural tapestry that brings out the best in people, and offers a wonderfully inclusive community to raise a family in. Our community events and celebrations bring out the best of our cultures, our languages, our skills and our people SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” and we grow stronger every year as we learn how to better promote and showcase the uniqueness of our little piece of Arctic heaven.

The fabric of Inuvik is so strong that we truly come together in times of need and trial, even for those of us who moved to town. Growing up with the anonymity (and apathy) of big city dwellers really focuses what community means to a transplanted family like ours when we have occasional need SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” and why we are so proud to call our neighbours family, and call Inuvik our home. 

The advance vote for the municipal election is Oct. 11 and election day is Oct. 21.