The story so far
Accomplishments from my first term
Photo Courtesy of the 2026 Arctic Winter Games
With beneficiaries Tom Mugford, Dan Pottle and Charlotte Winters-Fost at the re-internment of the remains of the unknown soldier. St. John’s NL, July 1st, 2024.
This past four years have been a significant learning journey. However, I believe the experience I have gained has been instrumental in moving forward initiatives that benefit Labrador Inuit. The greatest gift of this role has been getting to meet beneficiaries all over this country, many who work in governance, academia and the arts, and learning about how you believe we should continue to advance the work of the Nunatsiavut Assembly.
Initiatives in the 5th Assembly
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Building on the work of the 4th Nunatsiavut Assembly, I chaired the Special Committee on Voting Alternatives for the Canadian Constituency. Through this committee, we were able to bring forward first recommendations and later amendments to legislation to allow electronic voting as an option for beneficiaries living in the Canadian Constituency. This was years of work in the making and has ensured an end of the disenfranchisement experienced by those of us living outside of the land claim area and Upper Lake Melville.
*Unfortunately, the Nunatsiavut Electoral Officer ultimately decided to not implement electronic voting for the 2026 General Election.
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Along with likeminded Labrador Inuit, I advocated for the inclusion of Nunatsiavut athletes in the Arctic Winter Games alongside our cousins in Nunavut, Nunavik, and other global counterparts. This began with questions in the Nunatsiavut Assembly, which led to official observer status in Alaska 2024, then a contingency of special guests to Whitehorse 2026. Nunatsiavut has now been invited to send a team to the Avannaa Arctic Games in 2027 in Ilulissat, Greenland, providing our young athletes another opportunity to showcase our athletic prowess on the circumpolar stage.
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Relaying concerns from beneficiaries within the catchment area of the Labrador Health Centre, I asked why Dr. Adolf Hamann istill practicing obstetrics and gynecology to the attention of the Assembly, despite public allegations of malpractice. This led to a press release by the Nunatsiavut Government, followed by a follow-up response from the representative of the Torngat Mountains in the House of Assembly, then a flurry of press coverage. Although this has not yet seen a resolution, items of importance to the public such as this need to be heard in our Assembly.
https://www.pentictonherald.ca/spare_news/article_3e75b346-2749-5bc1-b6ec-2049ce5a0f74.html -
During the last term, Roland Saunders and I worked with different Urban Inuit Organizations and institutions in St. John’s, Halifax and Edmonton to create feast events for beneficiaries. Beyond those events, I met with constituents all over the country, from Southern Labrador to the Maritimes and the Arctic, in an effort to learn what more you wanted to see from our government.