Let's Move On: The Life Story of Paul Okalik

Paul Okalik was raised in a community that has survived starvation, epidemics, eradication of their spiritual heritage, relocation, schooling in a foreign language and confrontation with the Canadian justice system. He made the decision to improve the living conditions of his fellow Inuit. After ten years in Ottawa universities, he was called to the Northwest Territories Bar and then was elected the first Premier of Nunavut, the new Canadian territory, all in the year 1999. The new government was challenged on all fronts. Education and training was crucial if Inuit wanted to play a determining role in decision-making. While Paul Okalik was premier, Nunavut developed a civil service decentralized over ten distant communities, built much-needed infrastructures and provided more affordable housing. Though Inuit employment in the Government of Nunavut managed to exceed 50 percent, this did not yet reflect yet the proportion of Inuit in the population. The Inuit’s long-standing goal of self-government in Nunavut remains to be achieved. It is a work in progress. Let’s move on is an expression of determination inherited from generations of Inuit, victims of colonialism.