Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, second from right, and other finance leaders speak to reporters in Iqaluit on Saturday. (Patricia Bell/CBC)

Group of Seven finance ministers, central bankers and other delegates in Iqaluit this past weekend did not attend many of the side events organized around Nunavut's capital city, to the dismay of some organizers.

Deputy premier Peter Taptuna said he was disappointed to see not many G7 officials and international journalists had shown up to talks organized by the Nunavut government to provide information about the territory.

"We had some speakers here, but due to all these press conferences and whatnot, there's a turnout that we didn't quite expect," Taptuna told CBC News. "It's a smaller turnout than we expected."

Only one journalist went dog-sledding when that activity was offered to about 100 visiting reporters last Thursday, while few people attended a craft sale at the local parish hall over the weekend.

Community feast

About 600 people, mostly Nunavummiut, attended the community feast that followed the G7 meeting on Saturday evening. (Patricia Bell/CBC)When the two-day G7 meeting wrapped up on Saturday, none of the international finance ministers and central bank governors attended a community feast that had seal or caribou meat, Arctic char and muktuk on the menu.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada, were the only visiting officials taking part in the community feast, which was attended by about 600 people.

"The majority of us are here, not because of G7, but we are here because we have heard that there's tasty animals to eat," Nunavut languages commissioner Alexina Kublu said during Saturday evening's event.

It is not clear if all the foreign leaders did not attend the feast because of its culinary offerings, given that the European Union is banning the trade of seal products.

At a news conference Saturday, European representatives looked clearly uncomfortable when a reporter asked if they had learned about the importance of the Inuit seal hunt in Canada's North.

Despite the absence of foreign guests at many events, Taptuna and others said hosting the G7 gathering in Iqaluit attracted a lot of attention to the city and the territory.

"They're busy people and some of them are 20 hours away by flight, so it's understandable [that they didn't stay]," said Okalik Eegeesiak, president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.

Warm reception

Despite having stayed in Iqaluit for less than a couple of days, the G7 finance ministers and central bankers described the trip as memorable.

"I was deeply impressed by this region and by this city and by the great hospitality we enjoyed," said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who added that his view of the Arctic changed as a result of the weekend meeting.

Added Christine Lagarde, France's minister of economic affairs, industry and employment: "Coming to the cold and to this beautiful city made the whole thing a lot warmer."

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, said while everyone felt privileged to come to a part of the world they may not have seen otherwise, the important thing was to discuss the world economy.

"I believe this meeting has been extremely worthwhile and I hope people look back at it as another significant milestone towards building the recovery that the world needs," he said.

Keith Peterson, Nunavut's finance minister, said the finance ministers were keen to learn about life in Nunavut when they met with him and other selected Nunavummiut at a closed-door reception on Friday night.