Meeting The Minister of National Defence

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented itself on August 15.  The federal Minister of National Defence, Harjiit Sajjan, was travelling to Arctic Bay to inspect the Nanisivik Naval Facility currently under construction.  He and his entourage had to land in Arctic Bay because the Nansivik Airport hasn’t been in use since 2010.  I was able to get permission from the principal of Inuujaq School to meet the minister.  (I had to ask permission because all teachers were required to be at school on the 15^th to prepare for the first day of school).

            

Frank, the mayor of Arctic Bay, drove me to the airport.  We were able to recruit the most senior cadet of 3045 to come along.  She was dressed in her green uniform and I was wearing my military CADPAT fatigues.  An Inuit elder, Kigutikarjuk Shappa, representing the community, would also greet the minister.  Shappa is the same lady who made my sealskin kamiks in 2015.

            

We anxiously waited for the arrival of minister.  The summer weather was bright & sunny.  There were a few small icebergs in the bay.  At 9:45am we heard a distant roar of engines.  Then we spotted a tall dark grey metal tail moving towards the terminal.  The Hercules military transport slowly turned towards the terminal and continued taxiing towards us.  It’s four large propellers spun loudly, kicking up dust behind the large aircraft.  The pilots found a place to park and turned off the engines.  When the propellers stopped spinning, a side door at the front of the plane opened and the back door was also lowered.  People began disembarking from the plane.  The Hercules plane arrived from Resolute Bay, but started flying from CFS Alert!

            

The Arctic Bay “Welcoming Party” walked onto the gravel tarmac to meet the visitors.  I quickly snapped several pictures of the Herc.  Harjiit Sajjan was surrounded by high ranking officers as well as a few reporters.  A lot of saluting was about to happen. 

Kigutikarjuk Shappa meets Harjiit Sajjan.

Arctic Bay mayor Frank May meets
Harjiit Sajjan.

When the minister stepped up to me, I came to attention and saluted him.  I introduced myself as the commanding officer of 3045 Army Cadet Corps.  I shook his hand and presented him a green 3045 fidget spinner.  He thanked me for the gift and passed it on to this aide.  Cadet Sergeant Pauloosie followed suit and presented a corps hoodie.  He shook her hand and thanked her for the clothing.  As the minister moved on to the mayor, the high-ranking air force generals, colonels, and a major, walked up to me to as well.  I saluted each of them and shook their hands.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have any spinners for them.

Once all the greetings were done, a school bus drove onto the tarmac.  Everyone began boarding the bus to Nanisivik.  The original plan was for me to head back to school and for the cadet sergeant to accompany the minister for the tour.  As I watched everyone get on the bus, a voice in my head urged me to do the same.  This may be your only chance to spend time with the Minister of National Defence.  Get on that bus!  I listened to the voice.

The bus ride was slow & bumpy.  The gravel road looked flat but there were constant sounds of little rocks hitting the underside of the bus.  I spoke with several officers and reporters about what I do in the community and how long I’ve resided there.  We had to speak quite loudly over the noise.  I also played tour guide, briefly describing several landmarks along the way.

All the workers at the naval facility were waiting for us to arrive.  A cold wind greeted us as we stepped off the bus.  The minister and his entourage were greeted by representatives of Almiq Contracting, the company hired to build the naval facility.  A lot of greetings and handshakes were exchanged.  The minister also posed for pictures with individual workers.  Everyone then assembled around a tall flagpole that resemble a ship mast.  The Canadian and Nunavut flags were tied to the mast.  All Inuit workers were asked to stand close to the pole for the flag raising.  I instructed my cadet Sergeant to do the same.  Pictures were taken of the minister raising the Canadian flag.  An Inuk worker raised the Nunavut flag.

Sajjan was given a tour of the facilities.  He listened intently while everyone followed him.  The tour continued down to the docks where the future Harry DeWolf class ships will be able to dock during the brief summer months to refuel.  It was here at the docks where reporters conducted their filmed interviews with Sajjan and other senior military officers about the importance of the Nanisivik Naval Facility.  The theme of the interviews was asserting Canadian Arctic sovereignty.

Workers' Barracks

Everyone headed inside the workers’ barracks for lunch.  The kitchen staff had been preparing delicious meals for the special guests.  Arctic char was the main course.  Sergeant Pauloosie and I were able to sit & eat with the Defence Minister.  I extended an invitation for him to be a guest reviewing officer at 3045’s Annual Ceremonial Review Parade in April 2019.  He thanked me for the invitation. 

Sergeant Pauloosie and I were presented with Minister of National Defence coins from Sajjan.  One side of the coin has a coat of arms while on the other side, there is a picture of the National War Monument in Ottawa.  Sajjan encouraged Pauloosie to stay in cadets & go to the very top, and he thanked me for training Inuit youth leaders.  We both posed for photographs with the minister.

The open waters next to Nanisivik.

The bus ride back was just as slow & bumpy.  The school bus parked on the gravel tarmac and we all got out.  I saluted the minister for the last time before he walked over to the Hercules plane.  Unfortunately, Sajjan could not stay to visit the community.  He was working on a tight schedule.  He had to be down in Alberta by the end of the day.  Frank drove Pauloosie, Shappa, and myself back into town.

I was walking to school when the Hercules took off.  The plane left a massive dust cloud that slowly drifted towards King George V Mountain.  I stopped and watched the plane circle around and fly over Arctic Bay before heading south.  As I continued walking to school, I thought to myself, I’m glad I got on that school bus.