Even after 25 years, Manitok Thompson remembers the founding of Nunavut like it was yesterday.
SA国际影视传媒淚t was so exciting,SA国际影视传媒� she said from her home in Carleton Place, Ont. SA国际影视传媒淲e were very proud that we were finally getting our own territory.
SA国际影视传媒淲e had very high expectations SA国际影视传媒� finally our own identity, our own Inuit government, run by Inuit.SA国际影视传媒�
Nunavut became CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 newest territory on April 1, 1999, and this year, it celebrates its 25th anniversary on Monday.
At the time of the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 legislative founding, Thompson was serving as the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 minister of Municipal and Community Affairs in Yellowknife. When Nunavut finally became a reality, she relocated to Iqaluit to become one of the first members of the new territorySA国际影视传媒檚 legislative assembly, representing the electoral district of Rankin Inlet South/Whale Cove, not far from her hometown of Coral Harbour.
SA国际影视传媒淚 am very proud to have been part of the first government,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
Despite the excitement and optimism in the air, the first months of NunavutSA国际影视传媒檚 existence were full of SA国际影视传媒渃hallenges,SA国际影视传媒� according to Thompson.
SA国际影视传媒淭he first government did a lot of work,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭he legislative assembly was not ready. We had our first meeting in the parish hall. The ministers had offices all over Iqaluit in different buildings. We had to hire our staff SA国际影视传媒� our headquarters were not staffed at all. For me as a public works minister, I just had three staff in headquarters: my deputy minister, my assistant deputy minister and the secretary. The regional staff became headquarter staff overnight, but we survived it.SA国际影视传媒�
Nunavut still faces many challenges today, the biggest of which is housing, according to Thompson.
SA国际影视传媒淚f you have good shelter and youSA国际影视传媒檙e secure, it affects your mental health [in a positive way],SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲hat we said in SA国际影视传媒�99 is still being talked about today, 25 years later. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e still talking about the housing crisis SA国际影视传媒� but we have done good. We have been building homes and houses.SA国际影视传媒�
Thompson also remarked that the territory needs more SA国际影视传媒渆conomic developmentSA国际影视传媒� to make sure SA国际影视传媒渓ocal businesspeople have enough resources to be successful.SA国际影视传媒�
She also finds it SA国际影视传媒渄isturbingSA国际影视传媒� that some of the health centres in the territory have been forced to limit their services to emergencies only.
Elder care is another issue she believes SA国际影视传媒渟hould be solved by now.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淓lders are the ones that survived before colonization,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭hey are the ones that brought us to this age, and we have not taken good care of our Elders and made sure they have a place to be secure with interpreters, with all the services they need when they have dementia, or if they need 24-hour care. They should be home in their community for their last days.SA国际影视传媒�
In addition, she pointed to policing as another area that needs improvement.
SA国际影视传媒淭he competency and investigations need to improve,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭hereSA国际影视传媒檚 too much crime that goes unsolved and people getting buried without proper investigation.SA国际影视传媒�
Thompson contends that the territory SA国际影视传媒渟till has a lot to grow,SA国际影视传媒� and that SA国际影视传媒渢here has to be a lot more changes.SA国际影视传媒� Many of those changes will require time and effort to implement, but the former MLA is optimistic about the future.
Her optimism stems from her experiences with the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 young people.
SA国际影视传媒淢y hope and my vision is that we will have a very healthy population because we have lots of our youth [graduating high school] and furthering their education in universities,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 see [Nunavummiut] doctors, I see nurses. I see lawyers. I see a judge in the future. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 what I see. I think that with our young people, the way theySA国际影视传媒檙e going right now, weSA国际影视传媒檙e going full blast ahead with good things to happen in our future.SA国际影视传媒�
An NWT perspective
Charles Dent was the MLA for what was known as Yellowknife-Frame Lake at the time of NunavutSA国际影视传媒檚 founding, and, like Thompson, he recalls plenty of excitement in the air at the time the two territories split.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think certainly most of us were happy to see the members of the Nunavut region achieve their goal of having a government that was closer to them,SA国际影视传媒� he recalled from his home in Yellowknife. SA国际影视传媒淔olks from Pond Inlet or Iqaluit didnSA国际影视传媒檛 really see Yellowknife as being relevant to their government.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think on both sides of the line, there was a sense that this would allow government to more closely represent the residents of each territory.SA国际影视传媒�
However, Dent also called it a SA国际影视传媒渃hallenging timeSA国际影视传媒� for people in both territories as they worked with the federal government to obtain funding SA国际影视传媒渢o set both governments up.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淲e had to negotiate the setting up of two different bureaucracies, two different ministers of education, ministers of health, that sort of thing,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淲e had to negotiate the power corporation, which was actually one of the things that the two jurisdictions (initially) decided to keep together and share the ownership of.SA国际影视传媒�
Dent recalls life continuing mostly as normal for people in the NWT once Nunavut was founded, though it SA国际影视传媒渕ade a difference in terms of the numbers in the legislative assembly.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淚t was a little bit of a challenge to make sure that we had things moving forward correctly, but I think overall it worked out pretty well,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
He has enjoyed watching Nunavut grow and progress for the last 25 years. He said heSA国际影视传媒檚 been particularly impressed by the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 efforts to preserve the Inuktitut language.
SA国际影视传媒淲e hear often that Indigenous languages are severely challenged,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 almost a thrill watching the development of governments using languages like Inuktitut.
SA国际影视传媒淚 know theySA国际影视传媒檙e still far from achieving their goal, but I think that was one of the major reasons that folks wanted to see Nunavut established SA国际影视传媒� itSA国际影视传媒檚 one of the best ways to make sure that the Indigenous language is preserved.SA国际影视传媒�
While itSA国际影视传媒檚 now been a quarter of a century since the NWT and Nunavut split, Dent feels the two territories are still SA国际影视传媒渧ery importantSA国际影视传媒� to each other, not only because of their shared history, but because of the similarities that remain, from their systems of governance to their natural environments.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think we have to make sure that weSA国际影视传媒檙e recognizing that we can work together still,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭here are ways that we can still support each otherSA国际影视传媒檚 jurisdictions and we certainly face some similar challenges compared to other jurisdictions because of the vastness of our territories, the limited population, and of course the environment that we live in.SA国际影视传媒�
