Time of ‘opportunity’ as Canada asserts its sovereignty, premier says
Council of the Federation’s three-day meeting ends with premiers agreeing to cut ‘red tape’
Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok highlights the importance of investments in big projects during the closing press conference of the premiers’ meeting in Huntsville, Ont. Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of CPAC)
Canada is at an “incredible moment” for provinces and territories to work together on security and large infrastructure investments including in the Arctic, says Premier P.J. Akeeagok.
“There is so much that we have in terms of opportunities. We have to look from within — the critical mineral potential we have across this country and particular to the North,” he told reporters Wednesday on the final day of the three-day Council of the Federation’s meeting in Huntsville., Ont.
Akeeagok listed Nunavut-specific “nation-building” projects — including Grays Bay road and port, the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre link and a deepsea port in Qikiqtarjuaq — adding that Canada’s communities have to be “healthy” for the nation to assert its sovereignty as a country.
Following Akeeagok’s comments, British Columbia Premier David Eby bid farewell to the outgoing Nunavut premier who will not seek re-election in October, calling him a “huge champion of northern sovereignty and defence.”
Other premiers joined Eby in a round of applause for Akeeagok, who announced earlier in July he will not seek re-election as an MLA in October’s territorial election.
During the premiers’ press conference, a dominant theme was the need to eliminate inter-territorial restrictions on trade and worker mobility during a time of uncertainty in the Canada-U.S. trade relationship.
“We talked about cutting red tape, opening internal markets and building a stronger, more self-reliant economy,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who chaired the gathering that included all 13 of Canada’s premiers.
On Tuesday, Nunavut signed a memorandum of understanding with Ontario, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, agreeing to work together to remove barriers that make it difficult for goods and workers to move between the jurisdictions.
Tariffs imposed and threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump and his musings about Canada becoming the 51st state have united the premiers across the country, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said.
She noted that in the eight months since she was elected premier, she has spent more time talking with the other premiers than her predecessor did in six years.
“Economic conversations that we have been having because of the threat that Trump posed is critical and takes up a lot of space,” Holt said.
Because the premiers meet more frequently, she added, they’ve been able to discuss other issues like immigration, bail reform, and the need for more federal health-care funding.
The meeting in Huntsville happened against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations for a new Canada-U.S. trade agreement. Those talks “absolutely” must include Arctic security because the region is Canada’s “strategic card” in maintaining sovereignty, Akeeagok said Tuesday during a news conference, streamed on CPAC.
Negotiators for the two countries are working toward an Aug. 1 deadline after which Trump said he will impose new 35 per cent tariffs on some Canadian imports.
“Our objective is not to reach a deal whatever it costs,” cautioned Prime Minister Mark Carney, who attended the premiers’ meeting Tuesday. “We are pursuing a deal that will be in the best interest of Canadians.”
How about cleaning up the GN and making our government work better instead of this sovereignty stuff?
Pretending to look good and actually being good are two completely different things.
Lets face it. He doesnt really have any answers when it come down to being serious about the inuit of nunavut. He need to see for himself our present situation with our government.
Up coming Arctic Ambassador and do your best Premier in your next appointment.
Its bad. Not good at all. No trust anymore. Health care and building wheel chair rails to homes is kind of useless. Please do more talk on safety of all inuit where public housing has no say and as young family, those are useless. Garbage whoever is in control in building those rails.
Let’s get rid of the antiquated, anti competitive dairy cartel, aka supply management.
U failed was it kivvalik that pushout
What?
Well, if it isn’t the retiring Premier staying true to himself. More photo ops, deals that are not deals, bluster and babble that does nothing to improve the lives of the people of Nunavut. Three months cannot come soon enough.
Hey PJ, maybe stop all the posing and comeback home and take care of the kitchen fire that you and this underperforming government have failed to address. Maybe stay home and try working on concrete solutions to issues like the Heath Crisis with unacceptable suicide rates. Restricted hours or temporarily closed Health Centers due to lack of personnel. Children falling behind in Education at every level. Food insecurities throughout the territory and to cap it all off; the Nunavut 3000 housing disaster. There are rampant and multiple media reports, social media postings, internet articles, the AG Report, etc., etc.. over the last few months outlining all of these failures and yet you still don’t seem to get it. It seems you need reminding that your priority is Nunavummiut first and foremost. That is who you serve. Try working as hard on those issues as you do on creating the illusion that you are actually doing something of value for Nunavummiut. If you did that something might actually get accomplished.
Housing Corporation disaster, no change in President and Minister. You job is to put competent people in place mr. premier and nothing has happened. How are the elder vans doing again? Just go away already please.
We voted for PJ, and remember the MLAs selected him for Premier, totally our fault, there will be a new lamb coming to the slaughter in October, nothing will change, the Regular MLAs are responsible for this.
October can’t get here fast enough
I want to be fair to PJ about one thing: The GN has always struggled since 1999 with the problem of marginally competent to completely incompetent southern hires coupled with well intentioned but unqualified local hires. The southern hires in management positions have usually been transient, which means the government has been consistently reinventing the wheel or stumbling into the same mistakes. Like I said, this is a deep systemic problem which has been with us since 1999, and has outlasted all of the premiers we’ve had since then. I really doubt that any premier including PJ would have the capacity to fix it.
Maybe a Premier that could put full focus on these issues instead of pretending everything is going great and trying to have a national exposure would help more.
Might not be able to fix all of the issues but the Premier could have started work and addressing the issues and start on a plan to start fixing some of the issues.
This Premier missed his opportunity while in that seat to really make a difference and improvements with our government, instead selling himself nationally was his priority, he must have something more cushy lined up for his next job.
When I vote for a federal candidate, I see what they plan to do if I vote them. Inuit organizations, I vote for their entire executive directly. Government of Nunavut, is a crapshoot, no idea who will lead the next government, let alone what they will deliver during their 4 years.
What will we get this year, no more photo ops?