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Students from Nunavut arrive in Guelph

Entertaining visit with mayor a highlight of their first day.

Guelph had a young Inuit mayor for a brief time on Monday.

Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie installed a student from the Netsilik School in Taloyoak, Nunavut in the mayor’s chair and sat 11 other students around the horseshoe during a tour of Guelph City Hall.

The drowsy students - who had travelled through the night to get to Guelph on their Experiences Canada program visit – were suddenly rejuvenated by Guthrie’s antics and energy.

The travel-weary students arrived at the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute at around 9 a.m. Monday morning. They toured their host school, and then set out on a two-hour tour of downtown Guelph.

The student population of Guelph CVI is roughly the same as the community of Taloyoak, and the city of Guelph is a metropolis compared with where they come from, Nersilik teacher  Rohan Hollingsworth said.

“They are all really excited to be exposed to a new culture and new things,” said Hollingsworth, who has taught in Canada’s far north for two years. He is accompanied on the trip by fellow Netsilik teacher Alison Corbet. “When we came up the escalator at the airport, that was the first time on one for these kids.”

He added that the Experiences Canada Program gives the students an opportunity to see what life is like beyond their own community.

“This opportunity is phenomenal for them,” Hollingsworth said.

Inuit elder Rhoda Nanook is travelling with the group.

“It is not every year that these students get to go somewhere like this,” she said. “This is a big change from their small little town. It really is an eye-opening experience.”

Students Melissa Alookee and Maggie Aqqaq were asked what they most look forward to doing on their adventure.

“CN Tower,” they said in unison, without hesitation. The group will visit Toronto on Tuesday.

“This is very exciting,” said Melissa. “I can’t believe we’re really here.”

On a morning where the temperature was hovering around the freezing mark, Aqaqq said she was “burning hot.” In her home community, she said, the temperature is often -20C this time of year.

A group of Guelph CVI students are now in preparation for a Nunavut trip, which begins at the end of the month.

As part of the Experiences Canada Program, students from two vastly different Canadian communities swap places for about a week, each playing host to the other. Air fare for the trip is covered by program funding.

Lorraine Vandermyden, 16, will be going to Nunavut. She said students in the Guelph CVI group were recently on a one-night retreat as a bonding exercise. 

"We're starting to get really excited," she said. "We get to experience an entirely different culture."

As soon as the Inuit students arrived in city council chambers, mayor Guthrie launched into a lesson on how council matters are conducted.

With the mayor’s seat occupied by one boy, and the councillors’ seats taking up by the others, he played the role of a citizen bringing a proposal to council. He instructed the students in proper procedures and decorum, much to their enjoyment.

The Inuit students will be based in Guelph throughout the week. To explore the Experiences Canada program, click here 


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Rob O'Flanagan

About the Author: Rob O'Flanagan

Rob O’Flanagan has been a newspaper reporter, photojournalist and columnist for over twenty years. He has won numerous Ontario Newspaper Awards and a National Newspaper Award.
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