Levinia Brown

Levinia Nuqaalaq Brown
MLA for Rankin Inlet South/Whale Cove
In office 2004–2008
Preceded by	Manitok Thompson
Succeeded by	Lorne Kusugak
Personal details
Born	1947 Dawson Inlet, Nunavut
Political party	non-partisan consensus government
Residence	Rankin Inlet

Levinia Nuqaalaq Brown (born in 1947 at Dawson Inlet, south of Whale Cove, Nunavut) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the electoral district of Rankin Inlet South/Whale Cove in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut from 2004 to 2008. She was elected as a MLA on February 16, 2004, and further elected by other MLAs to serve on the Executive Council of Nunavut. Premier Paul Okalik named her as the Deputy Premier on March 9, 2004. She also served as the territory's Minister of Community and Government Services.

Prior to becoming an MLA, Brown was the first female mayor of Rankin Inlet and helped set up the Eastern Arctic Teachers Education Program.

Political career

Rankin Island

During the creation of Nunavut in 1999, Brown was on the hamlet council for Rankin Inlet and gave an interview to CBC Radio to give southern listeners an idea into the event's importance. In 2000, after an election season that saw 15 women serving on Kivalliq Region councils as opposed to a previous 3 total, she stated that she was happy to see women seek office and that it was important to have representation for women, elders, and youth, at all levels in the government.

Legislative Assembly of Nunavut

On February 16, 2004, Brown was elected to represent Rankin Inlet South/Whale Cove in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. She was further elected by other MLAs to serve on the Executive Council of Nunavut, and was then named as Deputy Premier on March 9. During her term, she emphasized "the need to combine social reform, economic development and community empowerment to improve the overall health and well-being of" the territory and was the Minister of Health and Social Services.

In 2008, Brown lost re-election to Rankin Inlet mayor Lorne Kusugak, who won with 62% of the popular vote vs. Brown's 38%, in an election that saw 10 out of 15 of the Legislative Assembly's open seats go to newcomers over incumbents.

Post-Assembly work

In 2016, Brown ran for president of the Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) with a platform emphasizing the elderly, food prices, financial transparency, and employment. Low NTI benficiary voter turnout and beneficiary questions about the closure of benefits programs were two other concerns she named. She described a problem with a lack of elderly care services in the region, with elders instead being sent to southern territories where there were more services but non-traditional diets and no nearby family members. For the youth, she suggested meeting with the local government, federal government, and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami to see options, as well as getting the youth involved. For unemployment, she proposed training for NTI beneficiaries at higher levels, not just service staff like kitchen workers and janitors, and also proposed looking into a road from Manitoba to Nunavut to create jobs and lower food prices.

Brown admitted in 2019 that she originally did not support the creation of Nunavut for various reasons, but "admired the determination of those who were in favour of division" and eventually became glad the territory had its own government. She also stated that poverty in housing was a continuing problem for the area, especially considering overcrowding and mould. She also noted that the region needed more range in medical equipment and facilities, as medical travel and emergency medical evacuation were considerably expensive. She stated that she would like to see proportional Inuit representation in government in the future (85% vs. the current 50%).

Personal life

Brown was delivered by her father in 1947 at Dawson Inlet, south of Whale Cove, Nunavut, since "there were no nurses, doctors, or government services in that area." As a child, she celebrated Christmas with gifts from relatives, southern made or Inuit clothing (often kamiks from Inuit relatives), and would attend mass at the local mission church, joined by others who traveled there by dog sled from local camps. After the church's dinner, they participated in "games and races outdoors, with coveted prizes including big 10-pound bags of flour and sugar, packaged in white-and-red or burlap bags" that would be repurposed as household items such as tea towels after they were emptied.

Brown attended the Sir Joseph Bernier federal school Chesterfield Inlet as a day student and was not allowed to speak Inuktitut. She also attended school in Churchill, Manitoba, before working as Rankin Inlet's first teaching aid and then graduating from The Pas's St. Anthony Hospital in as a Certified Nursing Assistant and working as one in several territories.

In 1978, Brown became certified as a Northwest Territories Classroom Assistant and played an important role in creating a Eastern Arctic Teacher Education Program in Iqaluit. Two years later, she became the first chair of the Keewatin Regional Education Authority. At some point before she became the first female mayor of Rankin Inlet, she also chaired the local housing authority, worked as an information officer, and served as deputy mayor.

Brown is married to Ron Brown and has 10 children, 3 of whom are custom adopted. She speaks Inuktitut.

External links

• Levinia Brown at the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut