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BETRAYAL OF THE INUIT ON THE HOMOSEXUAL ISSUE

In 1999, Nunavut was carved out of what used to be known as the North West Territories. Nunavut was given its own Legislative Assembly to manage its local affairs. However, it is still administered by the federal government through the federally appointed Commissioner and an appointed executive council, appointed by the Commissioner on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly.

Unlike the ten Canadian provinces, which are totally free of any federal interference in matters that fall within provincial jurisdiction as set out in the 1867 BNA Act, Nunavut is under the thumb of the federal government, and it shows.

The Nunavut Legislature Assembly consists of 19 members who speak their own four languages and have their own distinct culture which encompasses survival skills, games, clothing, arts, medicine, the weather, land, sea and the way people are brought up. Most of the Inuit are Christian, the result of the work over many years of the brave missionaries who endured the harsh realities of that climate to provide hospitals, schools and a deep religious faith for the people.

In this culture, necessities of life are always shared, family ties are strong, and elders are revered.

In view of the cultural devotion to family, it is not surprising that none of the Inuit languages include the words "sexual orientation," a concept contrary to Inuit culture and tradition.

Apparently, the federal government, by way of its appointed Commissioner, decided to change all this. It was arranged, in the drafting of a Nunavut Human Rights Act, that protection on the grounds of sexual orientation be included along with other more conventional prohibitions. Also included was a definition of marriage as being a union between two "persons" rather than the union of a man and a woman.

When the Inuit legislators asked for a translation of the phrase "sexual orientation," the translator gave them a vague and imprecise definition that in no way conveyed the actual meaning of the concept.

Fortunately, the marriage definition provision was circulated secretly several days prior to the vote, and caused such consternation, that it was removed from the final draft of the legislation. However, the sexual orientation provision remained in the legislation and was passed by a mere two votes.

The Nunavut Assembly has now dissolved until new elections, which will be held in February 2004. It is expected that when the Assembly meets again after the election, its members will attempt to amend the Human Rights Act, now that the implication to their culture of the words "sexual orientation" is understood by the legislators.

This manipulation of the Nunavut Assembly, however, is unconscionable. It was done by so-called "sophisticated" southerners, who wanted to establish a precedent for the territorial government to accept the registration of same-sex "marriages" - something that eight of Canada's ten provinces have so far refused to do. Such manipulation was also an attempt to alter the Inuit culture to suit the demands of the special-interest group of homosexual activists.

In this regard, it was significant that representatives of the homosexual lobby group, EGALE, were up in Iqualuit, the capital of Nunavut, in April to lobby government officials. Who are these to try to foist their unhealthy and degenerate lifestyle on a healthy, vigorous culture and religion?

For example, according to the homosexual newspaper, Capital Xtra (June 19, 2003), a few southern homosexual activists, including lesbian Allison Brewer from Fredericton, New Brunswick, who moved to Iqualuit in 2001, organized a homosexual "pride" picnic in Iqualuit in June which self-described homosexual NDP MP, Svend Robinson, attended. This event did not draw any Inuit, but was attended by non-Inuit only. That is not surprising. The so-called "pride" picnic, however, is an indication how these activists want to change the quality, culture and life of the Inuit to suit their personal lifestyle and perceptions.

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