Im following the rules; Lori Idlout says she hasnt received income from Nvision Insight Group since becoming MP
Published 4:37 pm Wednesday, July 29, 2026 By William Koblensky Varela Local Journalism Initiative Northern News Services Nunavut MP Lori Idlout says she hasn’t received any income from Indigenous consultancy company Nvision Insight Group since becoming an elected official, and she removed herself as director from the company before taking office. Idlout has an ownership stake in Nvision Insight Group, which she put into a trust on July 16, a disclosure to Parliament’s ethics commissioner shows. “I’m following the rules. I’m going above and beyond. And to set the record straight, when it was publicized that my shares are going into a trust, that’s going above and beyond what the rules are,” Idlout said at an unrelated federal announcement in Iqaluit on July 23. Nvision Insight Group received more than $583,000 from federal agencies since 2021, while Idlout was MP for Nunavut, according to parliamentary news organization Blacklock’s Reporter. Idlout said that she’s not allowed to benefit from federal contracts as a sitting MP, and that she never has. “I removed myself immediately upon my first election as per the rules of the ethics (commissioner),” Idlout said. In 2022, the Nunavut MP instructed her staff not to seek Nvision Insight Group’s services because she had “significant ownership interest” in the company, a disclosure to the ethics commissioner shows. On May 26, Conservative MP Bob Zimmer asked in the House of Commons for a breakdown of how much money Nvision Insight Group received in federal contracts. Zimmer said he thinks the company should have stopped receiving federal contracts when Idlout became MP, even if she wasn’t receiving income or acting as a director. “The company continued signing federal contracts, including one as recently as July 3 worth $165,000. It was only after sustained public and media scrutiny that she placed her stake in a trust,” said Zimmer, who represents a riding in northern British Columbia. He pointed to another of Idlout’s businesses, which improperly received a significantly smaller sum. “This is not the first time Ms. Idlout has had to answer for mixing public office with personal financial interest. In March, she was forced to repay the House of Commons $1,756 after purchasing gifts for parliamentary use from her own company, Carvings Nunavut Inc,” Zimmer said. Idlout said the Conservative Party of Canada was spreading disinformation about her and “playing games.” “The specific member that’s spreading disinformation is an experienced MP. He’s been an MP a lot longer than I have, and it’s really unfortunate that he’s choosing to play these games rather than focusing his efforts on his community,” she said. Idlout said her focus is on Nunavummiut. Housing and schools are overcrowded in Nunavut, and that’s what Idlout said she wants to address as an MP. “He’s choosing instead to try and make it sound like I’m an unethical person, which I’m not,” she said.