'No such thing as impossible:' Nunavut MP reflects on time in Parliament
Sitting in her Ottawa apartment on a hot morning, Mumilaaq Qaqqaq thinks about her grandparents, who, like most Nunavut Inuit of their generation, grew up on the land.
She thinks about her father, who was also born there but moved with his family into what's known today as Baker Lake, the only inland community in Nunavut and the closest one to the geographic centre of Canada.
"Thinking about those two completely different worlds and completely different times -- how short the amount of time there is in between them -- and then all our communities, and all the hurt and turmoil that's happened," Qaqqaq told The Canadian Press.
Qaqqaq is the only member of Parliament for, geographically speaking, the largest riding in the country. The 27-year-old represents about 40,000 people spread over three time zones and 25 fly-in-only communities.
She grew up in Baker Lake and worked for the territory's land claim organization and the Nunavut government in Iqaluit before she was elected in 2019.
Becoming a politician wasn't something she planned to do.
Qaqqaq says she was asked to be the NDP's candidate about two months before the vote.
"I came into this not knowing what I was walking into whatsoever. It took me a really long time to even wrap my head around what I did when I got elected."
She "hit the ground running and never really stopped."
"It's been crazy. I can't think of another word to describe it. I don't think life-changing is even strong enough. It's been a lot of things, but ultimately a huge learning experience."
Nancy Karetak-Lindell, a former Liberal MP for Nunavut, has a similar story. She was asked to run in April 1997 and was elected that June. She served 11 years before deciding she wanted to spend more time with her family.
"You don't fully grasp what the requirements of you are until you get elected," says Karetak-Lindell, who now lives in Rankin Inlet.
Qaqqaq and Karetak-Lindell both say they had to learn quickly that Nunavut's problems, including housing, health care and food security, put heavy burdens on them as the territory's only representative in Ottawa.
"You have challenges that are not felt by any other member of Parliament. The issues here are very different compared to most of the ridings in Canada," Karetak-Lindell says.
Qaqqaq took time away from work after she went on a housing tour of Nunavut last fall. At the time, she said it left her feeling anxious, depressed and overwhelmed.
"I wish I could look back and (say), 'Hey, slow down. Pace yourself. There's time to figure things out,"' she says.
The tour helped bring the territory's housing crisis to light, but there is still more work to do, she says.
"There's an awareness of the current struggles, but not about how it's gotten to that point and what that means for an individual and entire families and entire communities.
"I wasn't taught about my own history about what happened in the North. When you're around a lot of oppression and turmoil, sometimes you don't even realize it."
Karetak-Lindell agrees the job was difficult.
"People have gone through so much hardship. You can't not feel for them. You hear things that impact you forever and it's not something you can turn off when you leave your workplace."
Qaqqaq took another leave from work in late April following a social media post she made questioning whether Labrador Liberal MP Yvonne Jones was Inuk. A doctor recommended she take time off.
"I learned my limits. Learned my balance. Learned the importance of self care and counselling and finding that balance in me."
In late May, Qaqqaq announced she won't be seeking re-election, but will be working hard in Ottawa in the meantime "fighting for Nunavummiut to have basic human rights."
"I want to talk a lot more about how the federal institution, the RCMP, the churches all played key, key roles in breaking down Inuit, in breaking down our communities."
Rebecca Kudloo, president of the Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, says Qaqqaq's voice in Parliament has been "courageous and important" for Inuit.
"Anyone would have looked at me, including myself, until October 2019 and laughed and said, 'Yeah, right as if she's going to get elected,"' Qaqqaq says.
"I just keep showing people don't ever let anyone tell you no you can't. I keep showing people I can make decisions for myself and stay true to myself and I can still do a good job in spaces that aren't built for Indigenous people.
"There's no such thing as impossible. I've been proving that to everybody my entire term."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2021.
------
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Local Spotlight
Investigating the tale of Winnipeg's long-running mystery bookstore
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.