With less than a week to go before the start of the Arctic Winter Games, Service Canada has confirmed that all Team Nunavut athletes have had their passports approved in time for the circumpolar sporting event.
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and her office are taking credit for helping to expedite the process.
“This is a huge relief for families, as dozens of applications were sitting in bureaucratic limbo,” Idlout stated on March 6. “My office assisted with over 100 passport applications since November… I am proud of the Nunavut athletes who will be competing in the Games.
“This should not have been so difficult. There are many barriers present in Nunavut, like not having access to forms in Inuktitut or finding a passport photographer in remote communities,” the MP added. “I hope this will serve as a wake-up call to the government so they will improve federal services in the North.”
A special Service Canada team was assigned to Nunavut in order to finalize the remaining applications with the office of federal Citizens’ Services Minister Terry Beech.
The Arctic Winter Games will take place in Matsu, Alaska, from March 11-16, and will include about 300 members from Team Nunavut.