Whale Cove Mayor Oliver Shipton still has some pretty big plans for his community as he enters the final two years of his four-year term.
Shipton said he'd like to focus more on youth-and-Elder engagement, and there's funding through the Nunavut Association of Municipalities (NAM) for comprehensive community plans.
He said he'd like to create an Elders group and a youth group to take ideas and make the community's own comprehensive community plan based on what local people feel is needed.
"It will take about a year to get started because we'd have to liaison everything, but CIRNAC (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada) would be funding it, from what I'm told," said Shipton. "We would take ideas and the whole community perspective and put them together on what we want to be focused on.
"It would open up this dialogue where we can shape our community more so how we want to do, whereas the government just comes in and says you need to do this, this and this, and this is what we have in mind for you.
"What we'll be doing is developing our own needs and goals that we want to meet."
Shipton said with the focus more on youth-and-Elder engagement, they'd be looking more at the history of the community, as well as moving forward with what the youth want to see in the community's future.
He said those goals are really important to focus on for a community.
"Everything we can add for the youth is a bonus and there's demand for food-security jobs and creating new opportunities that are geared towards good mental health. I don't think there's been much recreational development in the territory for years. The last place to get anything government funded for recreation, I think, was Rankin Inlet for their arena.
"Other than that, I haven't seen or heard of much other government-funded recreational structures or activities in the territory."
Shipton said having a youth council and an Elders council would be an extremely positive development for the community.
"I think it would be amazing if there was, like, a shadow program where youth can become engaged, attend certain meetings and truly learn how things work. That prepares youth for the future and they're going to take over at one point.
"Most council meetings, there's a lot of talk about history with the Elders, and then, with the youth, you see a lot on Facebook with them wanting this or that, so I think there are a good number of people who are determined and want to contribute their thoughts on what's best for the community.
"Those people will show, join these groups and make a big difference. They represent the future and I think they represent it quite well."
