Pat Angnakak is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician, who was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Nunavut The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut is the legislative assembly for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The seat of the Assembly is the Legislative Building of Nunavut in Iqaluit. Prior to the creation of Nunavut as a Canadian territory on ...

in the 2013 election and reelected in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. She represented the electoral district of

Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu () is a territorial electoral district ( riding) for the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, Canada. The riding consists of part of what was Iqaluit East and Iqaluit Centre. The district was created before the 28 October 2013 ...

until 2021; she resigned her seat in the legislature in August 2021 in order to run as a

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

candidate in the

2021 Canadian federal election The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The Writ of election, writs of election were issued by Governor General of ...

, but was defeated by

Lori Idlout Lori Idlout () (born March 28, 1974) is a Canadian politician who has served as Member of Parliament (Canada), member of parliament for the riding of Nunavut (electoral district), Nunavut in the House of Commons of Canada since 2021. She is a m ...

of the

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. Angnakak at one point served as the territory's Minister of Healthcare and has advocated for increased government accountability and services for employees experiencing workplace harassment, as well as in healthcare issues such as poverty, lack of social issues services, and emergency medicine infrastructure. Originally from in

Cape Dorset Kinngait (Inuktitut meaning 'high mountain' or 'where the hills are'; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ), known as Cape Dorset until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit hamlet located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baffin Island ...

and

Pangnirtung Pangnirtung (or Pang, also Pangniqtuuq, in syllabics: ᐸᖕᓂᖅᑑᖅ ) is an Inuit hamlet in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, located on Baffin Island. The community is located about south of the Arctic Circle ...

, Angnakak speaks both English and

Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...

and has served on several boards and associations related to community development.

Politics and views

After being elected to the 4th Legislative Assembly in 2013, Angnakak chaired the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Independent Officers and Other Entities and also served on the Management and Services Board. On October 30, 2017, Angnakak was reelected to represent Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu for Nunavut's 5th Legislative Assembly. On November 17, she was elected to serve on the Executive Council and was sworn in as Minister on November 21.

Advocacy for government employees

Angnakak was described as the "voice for bullied government employees in Iqaluit" by

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is a group of Television in Canada, Canadian Specialty channel, specialty television channels based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The channels broadcast programming produced by or highlighting Indigenous p ...

(APTN). An employee – who was suicidal due to conflicts with their supervisor leading to fears of job loss – talked to Angnakak after talking to superiors and ethics officers had failed, and Angnakak (as well as some of her colleagues) began talking to the Assembly's ministers and questioning the territory's Human Resources Minister Keith Peterson during House sessions, citing nepotism, favoritism, and the dissolution of the government's HR department. Angnakak described many of the government's workplace conflicts as stemming from cultural conflicts between Inuit employees and their non-Inuit managers, employee fears of loss of government-employment-provided housing to offset expensive rent, and disproportionate rates of temporary vs. permanent jobs among the local, Inuit employees vs. non-Inuit employees hired from southern Canada. Angnakak suggested establishing a public service commission, following the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

's model, which would include a

workplace wellness Workplace wellness, also known as corporate wellbeing outside the United States, is a broad term used to describe activities, programs, and/or organizational policies designed to support healthy behavior in the workplace. This often involves heal ...

office and a committee made up of representatives that would hear disagreements between employees and their supervisors.

Healthcare

In 2018, Angnakak, serving as Healthcare Minister, described a systemic problem with addiction, domestic violence, and mental healthcare due to a lack of resources and infrastructure, such as mental health professionals and shelters for women fleeing violence. She, Minister of Family Services Elisapee Sheutiapik,

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

Minister of Health and Social Services Glen Abernethy, and Yukon Minister of Health and Social Services Pauline Frost later met to collaborate on methods to improve health across northern Canada. The Ministers discussed working across territories and issues such as "Indigenous children and youth in care, recruitment and retention of health and social services professionals, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder," and the effects of poverty and distance on food insecurity, including programs such as Nutrition North Canada. In June 2019, Angnakak called for changes in government handling and accountability of its contractors of

medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters and ...

airlines and equipment, citing ongoing issues with equipment failures leading to service delays and further medical complications.

Personal life

Angnakak grew up in

and

, later moving to Iqaluit. She graduated from

Nunavut Arctic College Nunavut Arctic College (, , Inuinnaqtun: ''Nunavunmi Inirnirit Iliharviat'') is a public community college in the territory of Nunavut, Canada. The college has several campuses throughout the territory and operates as a public agency (Crown co ...

and speaks both English and

. She is married, with three adult children and four grandchildren. She is the daughter of Michael Gardener, an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest in Iqaluit who was inducted into the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2007 and the

Order of Nunavut The Order of Nunavut is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Instituted in 2010 it is the highest honour which can be bestowed by the Government of Nunavut. It is intended to honour current and former residents of the ...

in 2011. Outside of politics, she has been the CEO of the Kakivak Association and the Director of Corporate Priorities for Nunavut’s Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs, as well as volunteering with the Toonik Tyme Committee, the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

, and the Sailivik Society. She has also been a member of the Nunavut Surface Rights Tribunal and the Iqaluit District Education Authority.

Electoral record

Federal

Territorial

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angnakak, Pat Living people Women MLAs in Nunavut 21st-century Canadian women politicians People from Iqaluit 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Executive Council of Nunavut Women government ministers of Canada Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Angnakak, Pat Candidates in the 2021 Canadian federal election Nunavut candidates for Member of Parliament