Jack Anawak, Nunavut NDP candidate, on the campaign trail

With less than a month left until the federal election, Nunavut's NDP candidate, Jack Anawak is amping up his campaign with visits and open houses in cities and hamlets across the territory and a promise for an upcoming strategy plan for the North.

To date, Anawak has travelled to Naujaat, Rankin Inlet, Arviat and Cambridge Bay. He says he hopes to visit as many locations in Nunavut as possible during the campaign, however the high cost of travel in the region is a barrier.

"It's very hard to travel across, when the airlines just changed their system into code share," says Anawak who had trouble navigating from one hamlet to another, with delayed and cancelled flights that stalled his campaign.

Last night he held an open house at the NDP campaign headquarters in Iqaluit where prospective voters questioned him for hours on a range of issues from housing and senior services to income assistance and infrastructure.

Anawak says the Nunavummiut he's met with so far share similar concerns.

"People are concerned about severe shortage of housing, people are concerned about income support and Nutrition North, Nutrition North is a big issue for all across Nunavut. I heard it in all the communities that I went to," says Anawak.

"Mental health, I was asked a lot of times what can we do more about mental health, and to me it's developing concrete strategies to deal with mental health that are important," adds Anawak.

Filling a political void

The open house was an opportunity for voters to learn more about the NDP candidate and his party's plans for Nunavut. Peter Williamson says he came to the meeting because he is still undecided about who to vote for.

"From my point of view the Conservative government hasn't really represented the interests of Inuit or the people of Nunavut," says Williamson.

"I want to find out which party, the NDP or the Liberals, can fill that void in Canadian politics today, which is more reflective of people in need, people who aren't represented in Ottawa, people who especially in Nunavut have a lotof poverty."

Williamson says he is particularly interested in a party that can "improve the quality of life for people in the smaller communities."

While those in attendance at the meeting posed many questions, Anawak offered few concrete proposals, stating that the majority of the NDP's plans for Nunavut will be determined after the election in consultation with local stakeholders such as the territorial government.

Anawak did say that the NDP will be releasing a strategy plan for the North in the near future. It will outline how the party hopes to address many of the key issues in Nunavut.