President's Blog
Taking a Walk for Cancer Research
Submitted by Mary Simon on Wed, 2012-05-09 09:31
Over the next week or so, I will be thinking of the six Inuit women, and their support crew who are walking from Umingmaktok to Cambridge Bay in Nunavut. They will cover 220 kilometers to promote healthy living, and for cancer research. The walk is called “Women in Action – Steps of Hope”.
So a big shout out to Cambridge Bay Mayor Jeannie Ehaloak, Janet Brewster, Elisabeth Hadlari, Jamie McInnis, Donna Olsen-Hakongak, and Nunavut Commissioner Edna Elias. The walk began on Monday May 7th.
Thank you for a wonderful six years
Submitted by Mary Simon on Wed, 2012-05-02 09:19
After six years as President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, I have decided that I will not seek a third term.
I am grateful to the Inuit of Canada for giving me the opportunity to represent them at a time when Arctic issues have gained great prominence domestically, and at the international level.
I don’t see this as “retirement,” but as an opportunity to reconnect with my family, spend more time with my grandchildren and turn my focus to the issues that I feel most strongly about: education and mental health.
Earth Hour: 2012
Submitted by Mary Simon on Mon, 2012-04-02 00:00
On Saturday evening millions of Canadians, and hundreds of millions of people around the world, turned off lights and electrical items during Earth Hour 2012. We did this to help make the global statement that climate change is an important issue to us.
It is a statement that Inuit support and appreciate.
Nowhere on the planet is climate change more evident than our homeland. The sea ice we have depended upon for millennia freezes later, melts earlier, and is unstable for longer. Arctic permafrost is melting and creating infrastructure problems for some of our communities as frozen land melts and shifts. Our shorelines are eroding. Plants, animals, and insects that Inuit have never seen before are being spotted in the Arctic as temperatures increase year after year.
This is the day to day reality of climate change in Inuit Nunangat.
Budget 2012: Inuit Federal Investment Remains at Status Quo
Submitted by Mary Simon on Fri, 2012-03-30 12:39
I am disappointed that the federal government chose not to invest any new budget dollars in the three priority areas where we continue to make pleas for significant new investment in the pre-budget consultation process.
It is understandable in times of “austerity” that care and attention need to be paid to where limited resources are allocated. However applying “austerity” to the Arctic at this time will likely translate into worsening conditions in our communities, which include:
- Continued high dropout rates for Inuit youth
- Continued low educational outcomes
- Continued inability to take advantage of economic opportunities in our home land
- Growing mental health, addictions, and substance abuse issues – and a lack of facilities to deal with those issues; and,
- Continued over-crowded housing leading to continued health and social issues
The Canadian government has direct and important responsibilities regarding Inuit education. It also has direct and significant social and economic responsibilities that extend into physical health, mental health, and housing.
It's Budget Day
Submitted by Mary Simon on Thu, 2012-03-29 14:16
As I’m sure everyone is aware, today is federal budget day.
The federal budget process is a fairly long and involved one that includes opportunities for input by various stakeholders in the pre-budget consultation hearings.
As part of that process ITK made representations to the government on what Inuit need across Inuit Nunangat at this time.
Within this budget’s process we identified three very specific areas where federal dollars are urgently required.
