108. Mumilaaq Qaqqaq

This very special episode features a conversation with Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, the NDP MP for Nunavut. We touch on a wide range of issues and topics focused on life in the territory, its differences, challenges, problems, and joys. Listen to this committed, people-focused parliamentarian talk about her work, her constituents, and her colleagues and leader in the NDP, as well as some of the ups and downs involved in representing Nunavut and being a young female indigenous MP. It’s food for thought and a call to action. We hope you enjoy special theme music by permission from Nunavut-born songwriter Becky Han, as well. Come along for the commute without leaving your chair!

Photo credit: Saumik Darehshoripour

Links: This episode on YouTube; Mumilaaq Qaqqaq; Baker Lake; the sled dog slaughter; Mumilaaq’s housing tour; impacts of banning/limiting the seal trade; the Qikitani Truth Commission (FAQ); Becky Han; have a walk around the Sanikiluaq Street View; full tracks of this episode’s opening music and closing music.

Street view

Spend a little while on Google Maps going to Nunavut communities—many of them have Street View and give you an external look at these towns.

Sanikiluaq Street View

Both of these Street View images are from the Belcher Islands. Every single island in Hudson Bay, and even James Bay, is part of Nunavut.

Rejected cover art for this episode

Though Pangnirtung is a beautiful place, we decided our cover art should feature Mumilaaq!