November 25, 2020

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau

Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Dear Prime Minister,

RE: Call for Federal assistance for Nunavut during COVID-19 outbreak

I am writing to you today on behalf of New Democrats, the MP for Nunavut, Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, and all
residents of Nunavut. Nunavut is currently going through one of the worst outbreaks of COVID-19 in
Canada. The latest figures, when factored by population, have Nunavut on par with the hardest hit
regions of our country.

I have spoken with Premier Savikataaq, as I know you have as well, and it is impossible not to come to
the conclusion that Nunavut urgently needs federal help. We know that if this virus is allowed to
continue to spread it will be devastating to Nunavummiut. Nunavut is undergoing a parallel housing
crisis – it’s widely recognized that close proximity, unstable living conditions, and improper
infrastructure, will only exacerbate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nunavut.

Nunavut needs immediate access to more testing capacity. In order to complete their contact tracing
protocols properly, they must have access to the latest testing and analysis technologies. I believe that
this capacity should be provided by your federal government. If we do not trace and isolate every
positive case, the number of cases could explode. The current community with the largest number of
cases, Arviat, is a community where more than half of the population is under 15 years old. Many
children, and in particular, Inuit children, live in overcrowded homes where the spread of COVID-19
could not be easily contained.

Nunavut has mandated that everyone wear masks when outside of their home but many people
cannot afford to purchase PPE, and even if they could, not enough PPE units are available for everyone
in the territory. To meet this outstanding need, the federal government should send masks and other
types of protection to the Government of Nunavut for distribution.

. . . /2
 -2-

I believe that these two simple measures would help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Nunavut, and
potentially save many lives.

I remain committed to working with you and this government to do what we can to end the COVID-19
pandemic and keep all Canadians safe. Please reach out if I can help in any way.

Sincerely,

Jagmeet Singh, MP (Burnaby South)

Leader, Canada’s New Democrats