Aglukkak, Leona

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<br>Leona Aglukkak PC (inuktitut ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ; born June 28, 1967, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada) is a Canadian politician of Inuit descent, member of the Canadian House of Commons from the Nunavut constituency (2008-2015). Minister of (2008-2013). Minister of the (2013-2015). Chairman of the Arctic Council (2013-2015).<br>Early life<br>Leona Aglukkak was born on June 28, 1967 in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Her childhood years were spent in Tom Bay, Taloyoak and Joa Haven (currently all three settlements are part of the territory of Nunavut).<br><br>There is no publicly available data on higher education in Aglukkak. Prior to her political career, she was a civil servant. She worked in the office of the Secretary of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, was the Deputy Minister for Culture, Language, Elders and Youth. Elected Member of the City Council of Cambridge Bay.<br>Political careerLegislative Assembly of Nunavut<br>In 2004, Aglukkak was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut from the Nattilik constituency. In the government of Nunavut, she served as Minister of Health and Welfare and Minister of Women’s Affairs. She left the Legislature in 2008 after winning federal elections.<br>In the government of CanadaMinister of Health<br>In the 2008 federal election, Aglukkak was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the Conservative Party in Nunavut County. On October 30, 2008, she was named Canada’s Minister of Health in Harper’s office. She became the first Inuit to be appointed to the Cabinet of of Canada.<br><br>Significant public attention was given to Aglukka during the 2009 swine flu pandemic, when hundreds of Canadians were infected with the H1N1 virus. The Liberal Health Minister’s critic later said that Aglukkak was doing „an amazing job”, especially when he called all opposition critics to find consensus on the swine flu issue. Another significant incident involving the Minister of Health was the incident with the body bags, which were mistakenly sent by Canadian Ministry of Health officials not to hospitals, but to one of the First Nations of Manitoba. Aglukkak strongly condemned this mistake of her subordinates, in this she was supported by representatives of the Liberal and New Democratic parties in parliament, as well as the leaders of the First Nations. The investigation, initiated by the minister, did not reveal „any evidence of ill will or deliberate calculations” by the Ministry of Health official, although representatives of the First Nations of Manitoba criticized the investigation report.<br><br>In 2010, Aglukkak refused to sign the Vienna Declaration on the Reform of Drug Policy, which included, inter alia, the abandonment of an unequivocal prohibition of drugs and a softer policy towards drug addicts, for which she was criticized by a number of officials of the Ministry of Health. At the same time, the minister called for the search for a „scientific” approach to the drug problem, based on harm reduction strategies such as needle exchange programs and controlled injection sites.<br><br>In the 2011 federal elections, Aklukkak was re-elected with 49.85% of the vote and ahead of three competitors, including former Nunavut Prime Minister Paul Okalik.<br><br>On August 23, 2012, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Leona Aglukkak will become Chair of the Council from May 2013, when Canada takes over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council. She held this position until 2015.<br><br>In 2012-2013, during the national First Nations protests, “No To Inaction,” Aglukkak urged protester leader Teresa Spence to end her hunger strike and withdraw her request to meet with the Prime Minister and Governor General, and instead discuss all issues with the Minister of Indigenous Affairs John Duncan.<br>Minister of the Environment<br>On July 15, 2013, Stephen Harper appointed Leona Aglukka as Minister of the Environment.<br><br>In December 2014, Aglukkak apologized for reading the newspaper during the time allotted for questions of opposition to government ministers, and thus skipped the question of high food prices in the north of the country. The incident was subsequently exploited by Aglukkak’s opponent, liberal Paul Okalik. In 2015, when Aglukkak held a series of campaign speeches at the office of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Iqaluit, Okalik invariably came to these speeches and defiantly read the newspaper.<br><br>In the parliamentary elections in 2015, Aglukkak suffered a crushing defeat with only 24.78% of the vote and finished only third, behind Liberal Party candidate Hunter Tutu and PDP candidate Jack Anavak. After that, she left parliament and left the post of minister.<br><br>In the 2019 parliamentary elections, Aglukkak again ran as the Conservative Party candidate in Nunavut district, but was defeated by the new Democratic Mumilaak Kakkak.<br>Family<br>Leona Aglukkak is married to Robbie McNeill and has a son, Cooper.<br>