Inuit Herald Historic Appointment of First Inuk Cabinet Minister

Thursday October 30, 2008 - Ottawa, Ontario - Mary Simon, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami,and national leader for Inuit in Canada, underlined the historic appointment of Leona Aglukkaq as the new Minister of Health today, and congratulated all new members of the cabinet.

“I am very pleased to take this opportunity to congratulate Leona Aglukkaq for being the first Inuk named to a Cabinet Post in the government of Canada. This day is a proud one for Inuit in Canada. It is historic and should be highlighted and celebrated by Inuit and all Canadians. Thank you to Prime Minister Harper for another historic moment for Inuit this year, the first being the June 11th Apology.”

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Simon also commended the choice of other ministers in the new Cabinet. “I welcome the reappointment of Chuck Strahl as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. I have a good working relationship with Chuck Strahl, and I hope to strengthen that relationship going forward.”

Ms. Simon also noted with satisfaction the appointment of Jim Prentice as the new Minister of the Environment. “Here too I have established a good working relationship with Jim Prentice when he was Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.”
“I also look forward to an early meeting with the Honourable James Moore, the newly appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage and official languages,” said Mary Simon.