It looks like aging with dignity is out but uplifting families and a brighter future for everyone are in as Nunavut’s politicians roll out their priorities for the next four years.

Last week, Nunavut Commissioner Eva Aariak revealed the Ikajuqtigiikta mandate that will guide the seventh legislative assembly — the group of territorial politicians elected last October to run the territory until the next election in 2029.

Ikajuqtigiikta means “let’s help each other” in Inuktitut.

The new mandate appears to be more general than the Katujjiluta mandate that guided the sixth legislative assembly from 2021 to 2025. Katujjiluta had a similar meaning — “working together in unity.” But MLAs were far from unified.

After every election, the newly elected MLAs put on their thinking caps to come up with the priorities they plan to focus on over the coming four-year term. Nunavummiut can read a lot into what’s important to their political leaders from the priorities they set.

The previous Katujjiluta mandate had five priorities: aging with dignity; expanding housing; enabling health and healing; reinvesting in education; and diversifying local economies.

The new Ikajuqtigiikta has four, more general, “pillars”: to strengthen and uplift families and communities; driving local economic growth and employment; simplifying operations and enhancing partnerships; and investing in a brighter future for all Nunavummiut.

Other than the goals of diversifying local economies and driving local economic growth, there’s not much obvious overlap between the new mandate and the old one.

The disappearance of the specific reference to housing as a priority stands out. The previous legislative assembly brought us Nunavut 3000, the ambitious plan to build 3,000 new homes between 2022 and 2030.

As Nunavut heads into the second half of that eight-year window, it’s fair to say Nunavut 3000 hasn’t delivered. There’s a lot left to be done in the next four years.

Housing, naturally, got a mention in the throne speech Aariak delivered. And Premier John Main said the cabinet is “ready to live up to the challenges facing us.”

For the past four years, MLAs and the Government of Nunavut wanted to work together in unity, but for the next four years, they want to help each other.

It’s a bit ironic that MLAs who set out to work together in unity tried to oust then-premier P.J. Akeeagok in a confidence vote. Solomon Malliki, then an MLA, accused Akeeagok of not being transparent and the premier’s office of not answering MLAs questions. Akeeagok survived the attempt to oust him.

And the four years were characterized by an ongoing tug of war between the government, led by Akeeagok, and a group of strong-willed MLAs who formed an unofficial opposition, led by former premier Joe Savikataaq Sr. and George Hickes.

Let’s hope “let’s help each other” works a bit better than that for this group.