Nancy Karetak-Lindell

[The Environment, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, global warming continues to harm Canada's north at alarming rates. The largest ice shelf in Canada has split into three pieces. The Arctic ice is melting faster than anyone's prediction but the government refuses to take the advice of its scientists and set aggressive targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions.

When will the government start taking global warming seriously and implement stricter targets?

[Committees of the House, April 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, we know that it was a very embarrassing day for Canada when we as a country voted against that declaration at the United Nations. Australia is another country that voted against the declaration. We have now since heard that there has been a change of leadership there and Australia has changed its position on how it voted at the United Nations. I would like to ask the member if she thinks that is hopefully where we can be in the near future for Canada.

[Arctic Winter Games, April 1st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to report that Team Nunavut was awarded the prestigious Hodgson Sportsmanship Trophy at the 2008 Arctic Winter Games held in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

Named after one of the founders of the Arctic Winter Games, Commissioner Stu “Umingmak” Hodgson, the trophy is a stunning example of Inuit artwork. It is awarded to the team whose athletes best express the ideals of fair play and team spirit. Team members receive a distinctive pin in recognition of their accomplishment.

These last games were the 20th anniversary of the Arctic Winter Games, which were first held in 1970 in Yellowknife. They have since grown in size, but the circumpolar countries still celebrate the friendship, cooperation and sharing which are essential to survival in the north.

I want to congratulate Team Nunavut for this great accomplishment and to thank Sport Nunavut for the tremendous strides they have made with the sports programs and development in Nunavut, plus the athletes.

[Aboriginal Affairs, February 26th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government recently transferred 1,900 metric tons of offshore turbot quota in NAFO division 0B to non-Nunavut interests.

Violating Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, section 15, which explicitly obliges the government to seek advice in a timely manner from the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board on Inuit harvesting rights and opportunities in offshore and marine areas, the offshore turbot quota was given to southern fishing companies, without due process.

Why is Nunavut at only 27% of the total allowable catch of the commercial turbot quota in the marine area adjacent to Baffin Island? This violates the principle of adjacency. This unfair practice must end.

Atlantic provinces receive 80% to 95% of their quota in their adjacent waters. Atlantic fishermen would not tolerate their quota going to outside interests. Why should we? It is time that Nunavut fishers be treated fairly in our adjacent waters.

[Points of Order, February 14th, 2008]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I do and on this very specific issue.

I think the parliamentary secretary said it himself, he said it was “a very narrow scope”. I strongly feel that those of us who work very hard on committees, our job is to make sure that we get the best legislation in this country. Those of us who have experienced living in these communities, living with the people whose lives are affected, feel that we have to put in amendments to make the legislation better.

We were doing our job as opposition members on the committee. As he said, it is “a very narrow scope”. We have to make sure that the rights of people are protected. If he really believes that is the case, then I would say that these amendments have to go through. I trust your good judgment in this, Mr. Speaker.

[Youth Exchange Programs, February 12th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, a group of about 30 cadets from Montreal will soon arrive in Repulse Bay in Nunavut's Kivalliq region to spend two weeks in the community.

Repulse Bay, a community situated on the Arctic Circle, is considered one of the more traditional Inuit communities and is the entryway to Ukkusiksalik National Park where the wonderful Wager Bay teems with wildlife, such as polar bears and whales.

A group of Repulse Bay cadets will then travel to a southern Canadian community in the coming year. I wish the two parties the best in their adventures.

I am a great supporter of these exchange programs for youth as these programs open their eyes to the incredible differences that exist within our great land of Canada while giving our youth a chance to showcase this part of our country. Friendships formed from these exchanges help to foster a better understanding for tolerance and diplomacy in Canada.

I congratulate all the volunteers and teachers in all the Nunavut communities who are working hard helping in fundraising and filling out applications.

[Adolph Laserich, February 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, a giant among pilots in the north, Adolph William Laserich, passed away last November at the age of 75.

Born in Germany in 1932, Willy moved all alone to Canada at the age of 19 in a Norwegian sealing boat.

While getting his pilot licence in Edmonton in 1957, he met Margaret Rose Bruce whom he married the following year.

The day after, the happy couple moved north and the legend of “Willy and the bandits” began. As Mike Bryant said, “Branded an outlaw by the government, adored by the communities he served, there was no pilot quite like Willy Laserich”.

Willy's company, Adlair Aviation, based in Cambridge Bay, is famous for successful medevacs, which is our equivalent of 911.

There are many families whose lives have been enriched by the daring efforts of a man determined to help those around him, including six babies born in the air. Still, in 50 years of flying, Willy maintained a perfect safety record.

Willy is survived by his wife Margaret, two sons, two daughters and four grandchildren.

Nunavut thanks the family for sharing him with us. He was a legend, a hero and a friend, and will be greatly missed.

[Human Rights Day, December 10th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, today is International Human Rights Day, starting a year long commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The theme for 2008, “Dignity and Justice for All of Us”, reinforces the vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR is not a luxury or a wish list. It is a commitment to universal dignity and justice.

Adopted in 1948, the declaration continues to be a source of inspiration for national and international efforts to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Sixty years on, we pay tribute to the extraordinary vision of the declaration's original drafters and to the many human rights defenders around the world who have struggled to make their vision a reality.

I would like to quote the UN home page as it reads today. It states:

The Declaration belongs to each and every one of us--read it, learn it, promote it and claim it as your own.

[Mike Gardener, December 6th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Reverend Mike Gardener of Iqaluit on receiving the Order of Canada in recognition of his lifelong work as a missionary and Anglican minister.

Arriving in the early 1950s, Mike travelled throughout the eastern Arctic by dogsled and helped set up the Arctic's first theological college in Panniqtuuq. Unusual for that era, Mike had the unilingual Sunday school teachers use their own resources to teach the children.

Mike and his wife, Margaret, brought up four girls in the Arctic. The family is well known for its tireless community work in all the places the family has lived. Mike is a great example to us all of one who helps his fellow man without expecting anything in return.

Congratulations to Reverend Mike Gardener.

[Youth Criminal Justice Act, November 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know if I would go that far, but certainly we need to bring attention to the real causes of crime. In many cases, yes, it is because there are so many people living in one home. We cannot afford to have homeless people. I was just up in my riding, where it was -30° on the weekend. We cannot have people living on the streets in that kind of temperature.

One of the initiatives we could do as a government and as a country is make sure that basic needs are met. In my riding of Nunavut, one of the biggest needs right now relates to the shortage of housing and the fact that there are so many social consequences of people not having a basic home. People are ending up in shelters, yes, and some people are going from community to community, home to home and house to house, which I think creates a lot of situations where crime can happen.

One of the things we need to address is the lack of social housing and affordable housing for people in my riding and other parts of the country, because that seems to be the problem that is at the root of a lot of our difficulties.