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Hamilton Spectator
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Cloak, wolf pelt and blades: Rankin Inlet sword expert takes Proust Questionnaire
Tristan Logan Quasa Duffy-Taparti is not afraid to be called a nerd. To him, that's a good thing. 'I own more swords than I ever cared to count,' Duffy-Taparti says matter-of-factly, while wearing a green cloak and wolf pelt. He walks around the streets of Rankin Inlet in his medieval outfit, making friends and 'embracing the nerd.' He has been doing it for so long that it would be more of a shock for locals if he didn't carry a sword replica on his way to the grocery store. Recently, Rankin Inlet's most visible sword expert, artist, Dungeons and Dragons master and owner of a genuine Samurai sword answered the Proust Questionnaire. What is your idea of perfect happiness? My perfect life or my perfect happiness, I suppose, is just when I am happy effortlessly. What is your greatest fear? A lack of self-control — inability to control or enact my own will. What is your greatest extravagance? Currently, probably my LARP [live action role-playing] gear. I am wearing a $200 breastplate, this sword is $200, my rings are about $300 together, my cloak is another $200 and that wolf pelt is $400. I can wear more than I make in a month. But all of my things are gonna be here by the end of the day, so it's more like an investment. What traits do you most dislike in yourself? Sometimes I'll say my apathy, when I just can't bring myself to care. I guess it's like that ADHD moment where you feel like you can't do things that you know you should be doing. What is the trait you most dislike in others? Ignorance and disrespect. When someone just dismisses others, other people's differences or other people's experiences, I immediately do not find any interest in that person. Which living person do you most admire? My mom. She raised me and I admire her dearly. But there are many people. I know everybody has faults, and I know everybody has things that they're really good at. I can admire what they're good at and admire if they persevere beyond things that they're not. What is your current state of mind? I'm in a happy place. On what occasions do you lie? I do my best not to lie unless I have to avoid discomfort. But I could also say that as a dungeon master for D&D [Dungeons & Dragons] I lie all the time, given that I tend to play characters who are duplicitous and act as people who often lie. What do you most dislike about your appearance? I could lose another 20 pounds or so. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? 'Hey, check this out.' It will probably be one up there when I show something to a friend of mine. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I know being able to find motivation easier would be nice. Where would you most like to live? Anywhere I'm comfortable. I'm perfectly fine here. What is your motto? I rather be quiet than stupid. How would you like to die? I don't know if that's how I'd like to die, but I've always imagined that I'm probably gonna die doing something stupid for somebody else. Nunatsiaq News is borrowing the old Proust Questionnaire parlour game to get to know people who are in the news. If you know someone in your community who our readers should get to know by taking this questionnaire, let us know by email: editors@ . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
14-07-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Antisemitism, celibacy and the piano: Iqaluit's Catholic priest takes Proust Questionnaire
Rev. Barry Bercier has been a Roman Catholic priest for more than four decades. Originally from Connecticut, he served all across the U.S. and also spent a few years in Jerusalem. But he always had a calling to go to the North, he says. Over the years, he spent several summers in Greenland, and in 2017 he came to Igloolik and served as a priest for three years. And for the past year and a half, Bercier has been the sole priest at Iqaluit's Our Lady of Assumption Roman Catholic Church. In his apartment attached to the Iqaluit church, Bercier took some time to answer the Proust Questionnaire. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Well, it's something not realizable in this lifetime, for sure. But the goal of happiness, I think, is to be what you were created to be — a human being. It's to be with and for other people. What is your greatest fear? Failing to do this. What is your greatest regret? Maybe not having kids of my own. And that was not a thing that was focused on when we were training to be priests. This talk about celibacy and, you know, not having sex and all that, but not having kids is really the big thing. So that's regret. But life is choices, and to choose this is to not choose that. And I guess, not having kids is the sacrifice of making this choice. I would probably just do the same thing over again if I had to, but I think they should change that. They should do away with this requirement of celibacy. Which living person do you most admire? Most of the people I admire are dead. I'm gonna be 80 this year, so I can only think of a bunch of dead people. What is your greatest achievement? Well, I wrote a couple of books, and I just recently finished another one [expected to be released this summer, titled The Bond]. What is your current state of mind? I'm not sure. I like being up here in the North. But I don't know what's next, and like I said, I'm gonna be turning 80 soon, so maybe there isn't that much of a next. But still, it's the question on my mind right now. Which person do you most despise? Nothing gets my goat more than an antisemite. If somebody starts to talk along those lines, my ordinarily calm personality explodes. It's something I cannot tolerate. Which talent would you most like to have? I wish I could play the piano. I wanted to do that when I was a kid, and I used to ask my parents for piano lessons but we were kind of poor and so that never happened. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I'm convinced of divine providence and that God works with what you have, and that includes your limitations. So I would not want to change anything. How would you like to die? Well, I don't want to be sick for long. I don't think I want to die saying 'oops,' because I fell off a ladder or something like that. I would like to have a few people around who are close. Nunatsiaq News is borrowing the old Proust Questionnaire parlour game to get to know people who are in the news. If you know someone in your community who our readers should get to know by taking this questionnaire, let us know by email: editors@ . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Quebec launches review of Puvirnituq water crisis
The Quebec government is launching an independent review of the Puvirnituq water crisis to determine the causes and a path forward, says Ian Lafrenière, the minister responsible for relations with First Nations and the Inuit. 'We're not looking for a Band-Aid solution. I want to see how we can do better, what could be done, what's feasible. This is a priority for us,' Lafrenière said Tuesday in an interview with Nunatsiaq News. He visited Puvirnituq for a few hours on June 20 for the first time since the state of emergency was declared in Nunavik's second-largest community of roughly 2,100. The state of emergency lasted 20 days, ending June 6. The water crisis was spurred by a break in the main pipeline that brings water from the river to the treatment plant in the village. The struggles started March 18 with a boil water advisory issued by the village. Untreated water had to be trucked into the village. But that effort was hampered by weather conditions and some of the trucks being out of service requiring repair. Health centre patients and long-term care residents were sent south during that time. On May 17, after a fire in the community , local leadership declared a 10-day state of emergency. It was extended May 27 for another 10 days until June 6. In that time, the Quebec government airlifted 145,000 litres of bottled water to Puvirnituq and Canadian Rangers were deployed to help during the crisis. A temporary 2.9-kilometre pipeline was installed in late May to connect the pump at the river to the water filtration plant. Lafrenière said he doesn't know how long the temporary pipe will be able to sustain the community — that's one of the issues the government is continuing to monitor. Because of supply issues for repair parts, a permanent fix to the five-kilometre Puvirnituq pipe might take a year and cost between $5 million and $10 million instead of an initial estimate of $300,000, said Hossein Shafeghati, Kativik Regional Government's public works director. Lafrenière didn't say whether the government of Quebec will commit to picking up the cost to replace the pipeline. 'Before committing, we are waiting for the budget and we'll see how we can help,' he said, adding the crisis is something the Quebec government and Kativik Regional Government will 'deal with together.' Through a review of the emergency that will be conducted by an independent company, the Quebec government hopes to determine the origins of the emergency and possible solutions. As well, the goal is to establish how the government can learn from the crisis and be better prepared to respond in the future, Lafrenière said. 'It's going to be a learning event for us. We hope it's not going to happen [again], but if it does we will be ready,' Lafrenière said. Findings from the review are expected to be released in the fall. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
16-06-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Grise Fiord harbour completion expected by 2029
A proposed harbour in Grise Fiord is expected to be completed by 2029 if it's approved. 'We look forward to our long-awaited and much-needed harbour and the many benefits this project will bring to our community,' Mayor Meeka Kiguktak wrote in a letter to the Nunavut Impact Review Board, which is screening the project. The harbour would include floating docks, a boat ramp and a breakwater, according to a project summary posted to the Nunavut Impact Review Board website. It would be located on the west side of Nunavut's northernmost hamlet, which has a population of just over 140. 'Floating docks will be able to accommodate all the boats that are currently in the community docked at one time,' said Greg Belanger, spokesperson for Transportation and Infrastructure Nunavut, in early May in an email to Nunatsiaq News. 'It will also accommodate additional boats in the event more are added.' A preliminary design concept sketch appears to show room for 36 boats. Belanger said the project is in the 'design phase,' but did not provide a cost estimate. 'The department doesn't share cost estimates prior to tender as it would interfere with the procurement process,' he said. Belanger said the harbour project is expected to be completed by 2029. It will be paid for by Transport Canada, through a federal program that funds High Arctic harbour infrastructure. On the Nunavut Impact Review Board's website, the project is listed as being in 'active screening,' and said a 'public comment period' started April 30. The board's webpage for the project includes submissions from federal agencies including Environment Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. There are also letters of support from the community. Amon Akeeagok, chairperson of the Iviq Hunters' and Trappers Association, wrote in a letter that the HTA was consulted on several occasions, and that 'Grise Fiord urgently needs a harbour' for 'safety and efficiency' around boating. The hunters and trappers association didn't express any concerns about the project impacting fish, wildlife and community members' ability to harvest. Hamlet Coun. Laisa Audlaluk-Watsko pointed to safety as a key benefit of the harbour, especially as summer boating water conditions can quickly change. 'If we had that harbour, then you're arriving into calmer waters because [it is] sheltered in,' she said in an interview in April. 'We could be out in the day, it'll be calm, and then midway before we return it got wavy.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Iqaluit RCMP investigate ‘threat' comments toward council
Facebook comments described by Coun. Sam Tilley as a 'threat' following the passage of amendments to Iqaluit's animal control bylaw Tuesday are now being investigated by the Iqaluit RCMP. The amendments allow municipal enforcement to euthanize loose dogs after 24 hours, reduced from seven days. It also applies heavier impound fees to owners of animals that have been caught. Dozens of people came out to Tuesday's council meeting, many with a desire to express opposition to the amendments. Sgt. George Henrie initially said police hadn't received a complaint, so there was no investigation, when Nunatsiaq News asked on Thursday afternoon. But he provided an update Friday morning. 'I was notified that the Iqaluit detachment did receive a report of the Facebook post and that they are investigating the matter,' said Henrie in an email. 'As it is an ongoing investigation, I am unable to provide additional details.' The two comments appeared under a Facebook post Wednesday by Nunavut Animal Rescue president Janelle Kennedy, in which she argued why she felt council was wrong in its unanimous decision to approve the bylaw amendments. Tilley shared screenshots those comments on his Facebook account before they were deleted from Kennedy's post. One user had commented, 'It would be a truly terrible shame if anyone ever came across the city officials who passed this amendment and mistook them for lost/unclaimed dogs.' Kennedy posted a response, saying 'my eyesight is pretty bad these days so anything is possible,' followed by a laughing emoji. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
