A year after the retirement of former Nunavut senator Dennis Patterson, the long-awaited announcement about his successor was made on Dec. 19 with Nancy Karetak-Lindell named as the territory's new representative in the Red Chamber.
When asked if the appointment came as a surprise, she replied, “Yes and no. I wasn’t doing much after I retired, but people kept asking me if I was putting my name in, and the more I thought about it, I thought, maybe this is a, hopefully, last thing I could do to help Nunavut in a different way.”
Karetak-Lindell, who calls Arviat home, described the application process as similar to a normal job interview with a committee.
She called being selected “a great honour. My life’s work has always been with the mentality that we have to do our part to make wherever we live a better place to live in. A region, a country — each of us has a responsibility to work hard to make sure all voices are heard.
“Inuit voices have not always been heard in determining what factors are going to affect their lives. Our history is not great for anyone asking us how we would like to contribute to this process. We’ve largely been left out of the decision-making processes, and we’re all trying to change that," she said. "Throughout my work as Member of Parliament, it was all about trying to provide a voice for the North, and make sure the rest of the country is aware of the different challenges we face. The average Canadian doesn’t seem to know how difficult it is to access healthcare and education, and all those services that they take for granted in the south. We need a different approach.”
At the time of her interview with NNSL Media, Karetak-Lindell's flight was cancelled en route to Iqaluit, delaying her in Rankin Inlet.
“[Canadians] need to understand that we are living in an area where climate is determining our lives... it’s a very different part of the country, and not enough people understand that.”
Protecting our coasts
Security is another pressing issue.
"All the activities happening in the North are changing. Access to our country via the North is becoming a security issue for our country," the senator said. "The development of mines and energy companies coming in to find resources in our waters and in our lands are becoming more and more a reality for us.
“Luckily we have our Land Claims Agreement to help with the process... we need to make sure that we’re prepared. We need to make sure that the country is aware that we need more infrastructure to protect our coasts, protect our waters, our land, and to make sure that Northerners are included in that process.”
Karetak-Lindell also cites cost of living, medical access and transportation as concerns to address.
“Here I am sitting in Rankin [Inlet], and power outages are becoming a weekly, monthly occurrence in some communities because we have such aging infrastructure.”
In the Qikiqtani region, Kimmirut endured three days without electricity in November. Many Iqaluit residents are voicing their displeasure with the frequency of outages too.
“With temperatures -30, -40, it’s not a joke," said Karetak-Lindell. "And the reality is we’re still operating with diesel-powered generators that are just past their life expectancy, and they just keep trying to repair them to keep houses warm. And we need to find alternatives, but that’s not going to happen overnight. We need long-term plans to switch to different, more sustainable energy, but in the meantime, we have to make sure that these are running. But because of weather, [repair teams] might not be able to come right away.
“I’ve always said that when a country is pressing another country about human right and conditions... Canada needs to look in their own backyard... in parts of the country, people don’t hear about in their daily news, and make sure that [everyone] has access to the same quality of life that Canada has come to expect.”
'Very disrespectful'
Protecting that quality of Canadian life remains a priority with U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent social media posts promoting the idea of Canada joining the U.S. as the “51st state.”
“I think it’s very disrespectful of a country that is next to the U.S., to make harmful comments without really knowing the issues," Karetak-Lindell said of Trump's stance. "This goes back 100 years where different countries were coming into Canada and claiming parts that weren’t theirs to claim. I can’t believe that someone in 2025 is still talking in the same way. That they have no respect for people already living in these lands and waters, that they can just come in and declare that they are part of somebody else’s country.”
In regards to the upcoming Canadian federal election and potential change in government, Karetak-Lindell emphasized that she is going to Ottawa to look after Nunavut's needs “so it’s a non-parliamentary trip. But I know what’s happening there — it happened when I was a Member of Parliament... it’s a process that’s within the party, which as a Senator, we’re now not part of the Liberal caucus, so we’re away from the parties to a certain extent.”
Her focus for the next few months, until she can be sworn in on March 24, when Parliament resumes, is to familiarize herself with the role and set up her territorial office in Iqaluit.
“We’re in prorogation now, and what will follow in due course... my concerns are my responsibilities in my new role and how I can best serve my constituents in Nunavut," she said. "I try and hear the voices of the North. I speak Inuktitut, so I can speak with Elders and a lot more people in the communities I know from my previous job. The group of people to consult will be people in our communities, and hear what’s happening on the ground.”
