Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 131 Inuit of Nunavut ratified the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement in November of 1992. Subsequently, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement was signed by the Prime Minister of Canada on 25 May 1993 in Iqaluit, and passed through the Canadian Parliament in June of the same year. The $1.1 billion Nunavut Land Claims Settlement Agreement was proclaimed at a special ceremony in Kugluktuk on 9 July 1993. As part of the Nunavut Act, the Government of Canada agreed to provide $150Million to cover the costs associated with the creation of Nunavut. The Territory of Nunavut was created on 1 April 1999. New boundaries were drawn in Canada's North creating two new territories, a new NWT and Nunavut (which means "our land" in Inuktitut). With this change, the map of Canada was redrawn for the first time since 1949, when Newfoundland joined confederation. Iqaluit, 'place of many fish' in Inuktitut; is the capital of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on which the city is situated. The northernmost city in Canada, its traditional Inuktitut name was restored in 1987. In 1999, Iqaluit was designated the capital of Nunavut after the division of the Northwest Territories into two separate territories. Before this event, Iqaluit was a small city and not well known outside the Canadian Arctic or Canada, with population and economic growth highly limited. This is due to the city's isolation and heavy dependence on expensive imported supplies, as the city, like the rest of Nunavut, has no road or rail, and only has air connections, and ship connections for part of the year, to the rest of Canada. The flag of Nunavut was officially adopted on 1 April 1999. The colours, blue and gold, symbolize the riches of the land, sea and sky. Red is a reference to Canada. The inuksuk (centered) symbolizes stone monuments which guide people on the land, and also marks sacred and other special places. The star is the Niqirtsuituq (North Star), and the traditional guide for navigation. The North Star is also symbolic of the leadership of the elders in the community. The flag of Nunavut was designed by Andrew Qappik from Pangnirtung. continued ...
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