Nunavut elder vans still parked two years on

Five elder mobility vans that the Nunavut government bought two years ago are still not in service, and the premier says his government is working to get them on the road.

The vans were shipped to Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay, Coral Harbour, Pangnirtung and Rankin Inlet, and none is running, CBC News reported. The territorial government announced the program in October 2024 under then-premier P.J. Akeeagok, as it said in a news release. The idea was a free service to take elders to places such as grocery stores, health appointments and community events.

The five vehicles cost the territory about $1 million to buy and ship. The plan was to have them running last year, but no money was secured to operate them, CBC reported.

“Accessible transportation is something that our government does want to make progress on,” Premier John Main said.

Main said the government approved $1.25 million this year to help fund the service and is now writing a policy around it. It will then look for organizations interested in running the vans, he said.

Northern Future Skills Development, the non-profit contracted in 2024 to run the pilot, said the territory budgeted only for buying and shipping the vehicles. “Basically the GN just did not provide or secure any funding for the operation and management of the van,” executive director Stephanie Boulet told CBC. She said the lack of a secure territorial commitment made it hard to attract other funders, and the organization’s contract with the territory has since expired.

Nunatsiaq News reported in 2025 that Akeeagok acknowledged the project had not panned out as hoped and confirmed the operator had not secured operating funds.

Local leaders say the need is real. Cambridge Bay MLA Fred Pedersen said he has seen elders pulling a plastic sled to carry water home from the store. “Some of the houses are quite far from the centre of town now,” he said, adding that elders with medical appointments or pharmacy trips face a long walk.

The vans’ future is likely to come up again in the legislature. Canada News Media reported earlier this fall that the Nunavut legislature returned for its fall sitting. Related northern coverage includes a look at the repurposing of an elders’ home in Kuujjuaq and the $40.8-million Inuit health plan approved by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.

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