New senior administrative officer sworn in for Inuvik, N.W.T.

The new senior administrative officer (SAO) for the Town of Inuvik, N.W.T., says part of her vision for the community is to build on the strengths of the people who live there, and give them the tools to become local leaders. 

Cynthia Pihlaja says that involves hiring and training more local people to help run the municipality.

"It's bringing in people who are currently residing in Inuvik, people who want to grow and not want to leave Inuvik — so our operations are developing that succession planning," she said.

Pihlaja was officially sworn in this week as the town's SAO. She's been serving as acting SAO for the last seven months.

Pihlaja has had many roles with the town since she arrived in Inuvik in 2018. She was hired as the director of protective services, which meant she served as both the fire chief and head of the municipal enforcement department. After five years, she went to infrastructure with the town office.

"Anybody want to talk to me about utilidors? I had a steep learning curve in terms of understanding some of the infrastructure challenges," she said.

The town is anticipating more growth in the coming years, with new housing subdivisions being developed by the Gwich'in Tribal Council, new office buildings planned by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and federal announcements about increased military presence in the region.

Pihlaja says she wants to see the town continue to grow, "in the right way."

She wants to plan for the future with solutions for infrastructure issues, including the aging utilidor system.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not without its challenges in terms of aging infrastructure, dealing with climate adaptation, looking at our buildings and melting permafrost, and how are we going to manage that for the future?"

Pihlaja hopes to see a good turnout of candidates and voters in next month's municipal election.

"Have an impact and a say in how our community will grow into the future," she said.