Piita Irniq

As superintendent of renewable resources, he was the first Inuk to hold this position and encouraged the hiring of Inuit into the department.

Irniq was re-elected to the Northwest Territories Legislature in the 1987 general election for the Aivilik electoral district.

As a member of the Nunavut Implementation Commission, Irniq served on the Communication and Governmental Operations Committees and was a spokesperson for the Commission on Nunavut in Canada and overseas and was active in seeking justice for the former students of the infamous Joseph Bernier residential school in Chesterfield Inlet, who suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of school staff.

In August 1999, Irniq was seconded to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut to set up the offices of the Official Languages, Access to Information and Conflict of Interest Commissioners.

[4] Most recently, he served as a key consultant on the National Film Board of Canada project Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories.