Duane Smith re-elected as IRC leader at Inuvik election

Incumbent Duane Smith will remain as chair and chief executive officer of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) for a second term.

On Tuesday morning, the 42 IRC directors – representing Aklavik, Inuvik, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Tuktoyaktuk, and Ulukhaktok – chose their leader for the next three years.

Smith received 25 votes in the election, while runner-up Kenneth Ruben received 11.

The other candidates – Wayne Gordon, Merven Gruben, Richard McLeod, Randal Pokiak, and Kurt Wainman – all had two votes or less.

“Thank you for putting your trust, your faith in me,” said Smith after the election, live-streamed on Facebook from the Midnight Sun Complex in Inuvik.

“Thank you to the leadership around the table here for giving me the honour of representing you,” he continued, appearing emotional.

“We’ve got a lot of big initiatives coming up that we need to tackle and work together on … Let’s get down to business.”

Only people living in the settlement region have a vote: either they voted for their community directors in December, or they are a community director who voted in Tuesday’s chair and chief executive election on behalf of their constituents.

Some of the 2,026 beneficiaries – or 44 percent – living outside the region have voiced concern over their lack of representation.