Mumilaaq Qaqqaq

215 215 Indigenous children 215 lives, 215 parents lose a child, 215 futures taken before they could have a chance to live Change your profile picture for at least the next 215 hours to orange to show your solidarity... Call on the federal government to fulfill TRC calls to action NOW!

Good morning and happy Saturday, Nunavut. It's great that the COVID case numbers in Iqaluit are dropping, but we can't afford to let our guard down. Keep following all the public health measures like social distancing and hand-washing. They're working! ... If you see any house parties this weekend, report them. As we saw with the outbreaks last month, a single large gathering could let the virus numbers explode again. I know we all want to meet with friends and families again and for things to get back to normal, but we need to keep our guard up. Matna

I'm glad to see so much support for my effort to put Indigenous languages on federal ballots. Nunavummiut have pushed for this for years. Languages Commissioner Aariak is right: Justin Trudeau's government should pass my bill if they're serious about reconciliation.... We're going to give the Liberals the chance to show whether they're committed to reconciliation or not very soon. I've been meeting with First Nations, Metis and Inuit groups from across the country to get their feedback about my Private Member's Bill. My team and I are working hard to make sure we listen to stakeholders and make this legislation as strong as possible before we table it. We all know that there could be an election very soon. That's why it's so important that we seize this opportunity to ensure that Indigenous people can vote in our own languages while we have the chance. You can expect some updates about when we'll present this bill next week. We're also going to be pushing a lot on core issues like housing. Stay tuned, stay updated and stay with me... https://www.arctictoday.com/inuktitut-speakers-are-left-ou/

I had a great meeting with my amazing NDP colleague Heather McPherson MP this afternoon. We spoke about the devastating impact that Baffinland's Mary River mine has on Inuit and the environment in North Baffin. Heather also told me about her fight to save the Rockies from Jason Kenney's plans to open them up to coal mining. Heather has been a great ally for First Nations activists who are fighting to make sure that the government consults Indigenous people about new mining pr...ojects. She's worked very hard to make sure that the voices of the Niitsitapi Water Protectors in Treaty 7 are heard loud and clear in the federal institution. I'm really looking forward to working more with Heather and my NDP colleagues on these issues. We know that the federal government needs to do much more to make sure that big mining companies like Baffinland respect our land and water and have meaningful consultation with Inuit. You can read about Heather's work supporting the Niitsitapi Water Protectors in this APTN story: https://www.aptnnews.ca//petition-federal-government-albe/

Naalakkersuisut, Greenland’s self-rule government, is telling Baffinland that they haven't addressed the impacts that the increased shipping from their proposed mine expansion would have on Baffin Bay. They are right to be concerned. Mary River is an international issue.... https://nunatsiaq.com//greenland-officials-say-nunavut-mi/

What a wonderful message to see this morning. Thank you Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada and Becky for always being willing to tell the truth about the needs that we face. You are a force for empowering Inuit women. Quvianakuni. Mat’na - quana - najurmiik - qujannamik -