Nunavut's minority communities share their concernsahead of territorial election

Nunavut's territorial election is less than a week away, with five acclaimed candidates and roughly 50 people vying for seats.

In a territory where 85 per cent of the population is Inuit, the demography is quickly changing, with residents from diverse communities also casting a ballot on Oct. 25.

Ahead of this election, four members from the Muslim, Francophone, Afro-Caribbean and queer communities in Nunavut share their thoughts on what's most important to them.

Muslim community wantsgreater support forArctic Food Bank

Muhammad Wani, vice-president of the Islamic Society of Nunavut,said the Muslim community is satisfied with its relationship with the previous territorial government. However, housing and healthcare remain a big concern for Muslim community members moving up North.

The Government of Nunavut's current health plan does not extend to temporary workers on employment contracts for less than one year, people holding an employment or student visa valid for less than one year and people holding an employment or student visa that does not have a Nunavut address.

"My request [is] that if somebody comes up here and they get sick, they should be getting benefits from our health department," Wani said.

Along with housing and healthcare, Wani said the Muslim community will also benefit from the new government's support for the Islamic Society's Arctic Food Bank.

The societyopened the food bank in 2018. It's the second food bank in Iqaluit. The two food banks open on alternating Saturdays, meaning that residents have an option every week.

"The number of people [accessing the food bank] is increasing day by day," he said. "When we started, only 40 to 60 families were getting food. But now we are distributing to over 120 families."

Wani said he would like the new territorial government to encourage the City of Iqaluit to support the Arctic Food Bank by helping increase the number of parking spaces that families use to collect food packages.

Francophone community looks to maintain relationship withgov't

While French is one of the official languages in Nunavut, the president of theFrancophone Association of Nunavut said itrecognizes that the Francophone community is a minority in the territory.

"We recognize that we are on Inuit land," Goump Djalogue said.

According to Djalogue, the Francophone Association has had a good relationship with the previous government and he wants to maintain that. At the same time, Djalogue said he would also like to develop a strong relationship with the Inuit community and support them in their claims of having equal services available in Inuktitut.

"For us, [being] allies with the Inuit community is very important to defend our common rights," he said.

For Djalogue, this includes linguistic treatment and cultural affirmation.

"We hope the new government will be open to develop a collaborative relationship," he added.

Afro-Caribbean community calls for collaboration to fight racial inequality

In June 2020, the Nunavut Black History Society organized a rally in Iqaluit, aiming both to support the Black Lives Matter movement and to denounce an aggressive police intervention in Kinngait, Nunavut.

More than a year and a half later, the society's president Stephanie Bernard said the fight against racism and racial inequality in the territory continues.

Last October, the organization called on the territorial government to put in place dozens of measures to further support the Black community. This included the creation of an anti-racism campaign, mental and physical health legislation, training, education, justice and employment equity.

"So far, we have not seen concrete actions to meet these demands, but the government has promised us that we will work collaboratively," Bernard said.

Bernard said the community felt their needs were being heard, with the society being invited to speak at the Legislative Assembly and with the premier and cabinet.

According to her, real change will require multiple departments of the government and local agencies coming together.

"We realized it was something that required a whole lot of time and a whole lot of engagement," she said. "What we're looking forward to is actually starting that process of engagement."

LGBTQ2+ community feels the new government needs 'to do much more'

Nuka Fennell is from Iqaluit and a member of the LGBTQ2+ community.

They said the government needs to do a lot more for LGBTQ2+ people in the territory, which includes funding and creating spaces for the queer community.

"I think that a lot of people here are trying to build spaces that promote queerness in a decolonised way, [but] it can be hard for people who are LGBTQ2+ accessing spaces and finding spaces where they can and where we can foster community," Fennell said.

According to Fennell, the lack of friendly and safe spaces for LGBTQ2+ people in the territory means that a lot of queer residents who want to be more public about their identity are unable to do so.

Residents like Fennell are trying to change things through the LGBTQ2+ Positive Space association, which was created in February. But Fennell said that members of LGBTQ2+ groups in the territory work there on a voluntary basis, and do not have access to large organizations that receive significant government funding as is the case for some groups in the South.

For Fennell, creating and funding LGBTQ2+ friendly spaces in the territory will help queer residents feel more supported and seen.

They also said that it is important for future MPs from the territory to take part in events organized by the community and to support it publicly.