Date confirmed for election of president in Inuit gov in Atlantic Canada
The government in the Inuit region of Atlantic Canada has confirmed that their rescheduled election for president will be on October 6, after being cancelled earlier this year because of COVID-19.
The government of Nunatsiavut, the Inuit region in the Atlantic Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, postponed the May 5 election this year over COVID-19 concerns.
In a news release on Tuesday, the Nunatsiavut Government said people should prepare for changes in polling stations this October because of the pandemic.
Changes will include limits on the number of people in the station at one time, enforcement of a minimum two-metre distance between people, hand sanitzer stations and frequent disinfecting of the area.
Inuit-language debate in September
A candidates’ debate in Innuttut, the Inuit language dialect in Nunatsiavut, will take place in September.
Advance polls are also also go ahead as usual and will be scheduled within ten days of the election.
Nunatsiavut’s population of 2560 is spread out between five communities along the Atlantic coast: Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik, Postville and Rigolet.
The current president is Johannes Lampe.
Nominations for the new president will close on September 1 at noon, Nunatsiavut time.
Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Inuit gov. in Labrador, Canada tells out-of-province travellers to stay away despite ‘Atlantic bubble’, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Finland joins other Nordic countries in virtual tourism due to pandemic, Yle News
Greenland: Greenland changes COVID-19 rules for travellers from Iceland, Faroe Islands, Eye on the Arctic
Iceland: Iceland intensifies COVID-19 border testing after case increase, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Norwegian Arctic wilderness tourism hit particularly hard by coronavirus, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: All Russia’s North Pole cruises rescheduled to 2021, Eye on the Arctic
Sweden: Sweden seen as major source of COVID-19 in Western Finland region, Yle News
United States: Airline shutdown creates new challenges for rural Alaska, The Associated Press
