Scholarship and bursary created in memory of slain culinary student reflect his community impact

The Joshua Qiyuk Memorial Funds are an Indigenous, need-based bursary and scholarship made in partnership with C’est Bon Ottawa and Anita Tenasco, director of Indigenous initiatives at Algonquin College.

The funds were announced on March 9.

“We are very honoured that C’est Bon has put forth Algonquin College, the Mamidosewin Centre and Indigenous education here at the college. Their relationship with the college is quite strong,” Tenasco said. “They’re looking into other ways as well to bring support to our students.”

Joshua Qiyuk was a young, inspiring Inuk man from Baker Lake, Kivalliq Region, Nunavut. He attended C’est Bon cooking school before arriving at the college. He completed the Indigenous cook pre-apprenticeship program at Algonquin and then started a career in cooking at the restaurant Absinthe.

In October 2025, Qiyuk was the victim of a violent and fatal attack in Ottawa’s east end. Police are still searching for his killer.

The fund will support Indigenous students who generally have a harder time obtaining post-secondary education. Indigenous students face a 60-63 per cent high school graduation rate compared to 83-91 per cent for their non-Indigenous peers, making the climb to post-secondary a steep one.

“Indigenous students have to make a lot of concerted effort to get to post-secondary education,” Tenasco said. “When they have their family’s support and their community’s support, that’s certainly a huge step forward. But now, even with those supports, in today’s economy, it’s still really hard.

“To leave a small and isolated community, or the North, for a large urban centre with one bag and a couple of hundred dollars…now imagine a student who doesn’t have those supports; the difficulty has just doubled.”

Qiyuk was an example of Indigenous perseverance and the hard work required to complete post-secondary studies. His loss has been felt by many at Algonquin College, including Cory Haskins, the dean of business and hospitality.

“Typically, as students are going through all of our programs, you see the student who’s there all the time, who’s participating, who’s engaging and then the other students start to connect with that individual because they are there and involved and engaged. And that was Josh,” Haskins said. “Always pleasant, always had a smile, very calm demeanour in a kitchen and just always very, very consistent and steady.”

Haskins elaborated on what a loss Joshua’s passing was for his community, following impressive career progress he had made throughout his young adulthood.

“Up until that day, here was a young individual who had taken a career path. He came to Algonquin, he found his home at Absinthe and the community he was with, and he was really happy in doing what he wanted to do,” Haskins said.

“The hope of coming to Algonquin, our mission, is to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success. And I think that is so true because students come here with hope and desires on where they want to go and what they want to do. Josh’s passing is a very tragic loss of himself and that success he made.”

Tenasco said fear and grief, especially following Joshua’s passing, should not deter Indigenous students from following their career paths and dreams, insisting that all students have a place at the college.

“Indigenous students have every right to be in post-secondary. They have every right to be at Algonquin College. They have every right to live in what is now called Ottawa,” Tenasco said.

“They are bright, they are capable, they have a lot to offer, they have a lot to teach others, and we need them.”

The programs eligible for the funds include: culinary management, baking and pastry arts management, the culinary skills certificate, the baking and pastry arts certificate and the culinary skills – cook apprenticeship. Program specifics may apply.

“There’s a huge need for Indigenous cooks and Indigenous foods in the Ottawa area. We have a shortage of traditional foods that are available here in restaurants and catering services, so we’re really pleased that this scholarship is going to take place now and in the future,” Tenasco added.

Indigenous students (Inuit, First Nations, or Métis) studying in any previously mentioned culinary arts at Algonquin College can apply for the Joshua Qiyuk Memorial Funds by using the Algonquin College online application system.

Donations to the fund can also be made on the college’s website.