Gallant's Lounge

Welcome back everyone, week two is here with some pretty awesome content on the roaster for you!

Let’s begin.

The making of Caribou leather

I had the chance to visit one of my coworker’s home for a video project at KMHB. Her name is Hannah Tooktoo, and I thank both her and my boss for letting me use the footage retrieved that day to make a report for the blog.

Hannah told us about her recent endeavor of making leather from Caribou skin. Her purpose : Reconnect with her Grandmother, who would make pairs of Pualuks for all of her grandchildren.

Pualuks, just like Parkas (Winter Coat) or Mukluks (Boots), are common gifts, especially during Christmas. When winter is about to come, there is an excitement among those who sew and craft the gifts, their excited give to others.

From a live animal to an article of clothing, there are quite a few complicated steps to go through. But, a web of knowledge passed down from generations to generation sought to solve these complicated steps, one by one. Now, that thousand-year knowledge creates some of the most reliable, adapted and comfortable winter clothing there is. Nothing beats a pair of Pualuk made with love and care.

Salaries, are they proportional?

Last week, I asked you to give me a question that you have about Nunavik, and that I would try my best to answer. And, I was not disappointed.

The question this week was : Are salaries proportional to the cost of living in Nunavik?

This is a huge question, that requires quite a lot of research. Even though it is well-known that working in remote places usually brings a lot of money. However, is the money enough considering the rising cost of living up North? I gathered a bit of data, and got to work.

First of all, I decided to take three online job postings for a position in Kuujjuaq specifically. I calculated the yearly salary in addition with the various amenities that come with working here like isolation premiums and cost of living premiums. When there was wage brackets depending on the years of experience, I only looked at the maximum possible wage. Then, I compared that yearly salary with the top yearly wage in Canada for that same position.

The three jobs I took are rather conventional ones that you could easily find down South. The first is Human Resources Officer.

When combining the cost of living premium and the isolation premium, the annual salary reaches over $101,000. According to Talent.com, the high end average for an HR Officer in Canada is $74,139 a year, which means the Nunavik position pays 36 per cent more than down South, according to this data.

I did this same comparison for a school principal and a general accountant position. Respectively, the salaries are 31 per cent and 30 per cent higher than the Southern average.

From the very limited data that I collected, there seems to be a trend towards the 30 per cent mark when it comes to salary buffs here.

Now, let’s talk about the actual cost of living. The last study on the subject was made all the way back in 2016 by the Makivik Corporation and Université de Laval. They compared prices from various sectors of the market between Nunavik and Quebec city on a 16 month period.

The study found that the overall cost of living in Nunavik was 28.7 per cent higher than down South. But, it also shows that a basket of groceries might cost 54.6 per cent more and household operations are 48.7 per cent more. The only thing that is less expensive is shelter here. Prices might differ from communities to communities though. That same basket of groceries will cost much less in Kuujjuaq than in Salluit for example.

To wrap up this segment, I would like to leave you off with some food for thought. The jobs that I used were posted on websites that cater to Southern workers mainly. Another comparison that should be made is with jobs that are posted for people here, but these are difficult to get to. Internet is not the main conduit for jobs, it’s either word to mouth or job boards. Some of these jobs do not offer isolation premiums or housing.

The other not so small detail is inflation. Since 2016, prices have changed drastically for all of us, and that is the reality here as well.

This was a really good question to start off this segment. So, any other inquiries you might have about Nunavik, don’t hesitate to ask! I will attempt to answer using the best of my abilities.

But for now, this is it for week two. A few things are brewing for the coming weeks, a few interviews on the way. Also, me travelling to different communities will most likely start in two weeks, which will be quite exciting to see.

For now, see you next week!