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Ken Driscoll

When you are watching the Olympics from Vancouver, try to keep an eye out for the Nunavut representatives, because Nunavut is counting on you.

The Government of Nunavut has spent $2,090,000 promoting the territory through the Olympics. That works to about $60 for every man, woman and child in the territory. When you add in that the territorial government had to recently cut infrastructure funding in half – due to lack of money. That two million is a health center or a community hall that simply won’t get built.

Over here at the Iqaluit Bureau of APTN National News, we were wondering what Nunavut gets out of the spending. Peter Taptuna is the Minister for Economic Development, and he defends his decision.

He sees it as an investment in Nunavut. Higher profile leads to more visitors and greater recognition on the national and international stage. There is also a group of artists – our number one industry is still art, despite what the mining guys will tell you – who get to travel to Vancouver and do their thing.

The torch relay touched down in four different Nunavut communities, and if you have ever visited a small Nunavut community, you would know how positive it is to bring in anything new from out of town. The cold season can get pretty predictable and routine, any excitement is appreciated. Taptuna knows that, one of the four communities the torch visited was his home town of Kugluktuk.

Those anime avatars of the Olympic spirit -- the three mascots -- paid a visit to the legislative assembly, and the kids from the local daycares were pretty excited about that.

VANOC has shown interest in respecting local custom as well. The person they sent to introduce the mascots didn’t just give a “hello” in Inuktitut, he spoke an entire paragraph, so well that he got a nice round of applause. I got some nice stickers out of that one, so that’s knocks me down to a personal contribution of $59.

Nunavut has a huge hook pulling us into the Olympics. You probably recognize him, made of stone, marks the way, “now they will know we were here.” We asked Minister Taptuna if Nunavut would still be throwing $2,090,000 into the ring if the Inukshuk wasn’t the mascot.

He said that Nunavut’s contribution would have been more “low-key” if it wasn’t for our rocky friends the Inuksuit (that’s more than one Inukshuk for the non-Inuktitut readers out there).

Taptuna says that this investment will pay off “for years to come”. So would an expansion to the jail or another health center. Higher profile nationally would be nice, it might attract investment. It won’t attract tourists, not until airfare drops enough so that people can afford to visit – or leave – Nunavut.

What we do know is that APTN is playing a special role in these Olympics, one that will be well appreciated in the small communities that make up our territory. We are broadcasting sports in Inuktitut, and yes, Men’s Hockey is getting our Olympic treatment.

Nunavummiut love hockey, and getting to see some of the national game in the territorial language of choice is something that will be remembered for years to come, even after the mascots and the torch are long forgotten, and it didn’t cost residents a thing.