The new President of Nunatsiavut, Sarah Leo, has said the Nunatsiavut Assembly will have two sessions added to its schedule for this year.
The assembly will also sit longer when sessions are held, according to a news release issued today by the Nunatsiavut Government.
“As elected officials it is incumbent on us to ensure we are accountable to all beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement,” Leo has said.
“We have often been criticized for not meeting enough to deal with issues that are important to Labrador Inuit and to our communities.”
The next session is scheduled for Sept. 10-14 and will include discussion of the proposed regional land use plan for the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area, a key document recently given the stamp of approval by the Nunatsiavut executive council.
The sitting will also be the first for Leo, since her taking office on June 20.
The session will also be held in the new Nunatsiavut Assembly building in Hopedale, with a celebration of its grand opening to be held prior to the start of the session.
The grand opening was scheduled for March 5, but a frozen town water line led to postponement of the event.
“In the past, the assembly sessions were held crowded rooms. It wasn’t very comfortable for assembly members and, as a result, sessions were often rushed,” Leo said. “The new Nunatsiavut Assembly building provides a much more relaxed atmosphere, and has all of the necessary tools and resources available for members.
“We fully expect things to run more smoothly.”
Subsequent sittings for the Nunatsiavut Assembly are scheduled for: Oct. 22-26, 2012; Dec. 10-14, 2012; Jan. 21-25, 2013; March 11-15, 2013; and June 10-14, 2013.
“These are exciting and challenging times for Nunatsiavut and Beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement,” Leo said.
“I look forward to holding this first session, to getting our legislative house in order and moving on with the issues at hand.”
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