Panniuq Karetak started paying attention to politics around 1999 when Nunavut became its own territory and everyone was wondering who was going to become their first MLA and who would become the territory's first premier.

He said his aunt Nancy Karetak-Lindell held the office of MP (member of Parliament) in 1999. He was about 14 years old at the time, and he recalls being greatly excited by the birth of Nunavut on April 1, 1999.

SA国际影视传媒淥ur family has always been involved in politics, so I grew up around political conversations,SA国际影视传媒� said Karetak, now 38. SA国际影视传媒� It's good for young people, in general, to stay as informed as possible because it's something they're going to live with for the rest of their lives.

SA国际影视传媒淚'm not too sure if I believe those who don't vote don't have the right to complain. Sometimes a person may not actually get to vote for one reason or another. I always tried to take the opportunity to educate people when I could, as in if you don't like it, here's what you can do.

SA国际影视传媒淚 never swayed to the silencing people side. I always tried to encourage people to educate themselves. You don't need to do a lot and it doesn't take you a great deal of time to figure things out.SA国际影视传媒�

Karetak said the cost of living is always a hot topic at election time, as well as infrastructure and housing issues.

He said he's very interested to see how things work in Arviat with the addition of a modular home factory SA国际影视传媒� capable of producing up to 40 homes annually at peak production SA国际影视传媒� being constructed.

SA国际影视传媒淎 lot of money has been invested into that, so I'm sure it will go smoothly," he said.

Nunavut's elections have seen the same people running year after year, he pointed out.

SA国际影视传媒淭o be honest, for a few years now, I've been kind of looking for the next generation to step in and you're kind of starting to see that now with the latest Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. elections, which was nice to see.

SA国际影视传媒淚'd like to see a lot more of that. That's for sure.SA国际影视传媒�

Karetak said younger people need to get more involved and start taking politics more seriously.

One thing that seems to prevent people from doing so is the unknown, he suggested.

SA国际影视传媒淭hey don't really know what they're getting themselves into and that might be a little intimidating to some. I find there's definitely always the possibility of scrutiny and confrontation.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd, living in isolated areas, there's really no running away from people. That's one thing that really makes it a big challenge up here.SA国际影视传媒�

Karetak said there's almost always a lack of candidates at the municipal level.

It's not that family members are voting for each other, rather, the ones who have run in politics for a long time have somewhat of a proven track record and a lot of experience.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd then, when you get someone who nobody really knows about, voters tend to stay on the safe side. I feel there's a lot more that could be done at the municipal level. Right now, it seems to me that the regional Inuit organizations are doing the majority of funding programs and economic development, which is a good thing, but I'd like to see the municipalities doing more.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think there's opportunity for municipalities to get themselves in the game, too, when it comes to economic development. The reason why we haven't seen that yet is because it's a complex topic.

SA国际影视传媒淚 don't think too many people understand economics and I think that's why you don't see candidates prioritizing things of that nature.

SA国际影视传媒淗opefully we'll see that develop over time, especially when a large community like Rankin Inlet continues to grow.SA国际影视传媒�