August 8, 2003
NTI wants city to
postpone tax auction
Asks for creation of
multi-disciplinary group to examine issues
NUNATSIAQ
NEWS
The executive of Nunavut
Tunngavik Inc. called on Iqaluit's mayor this week to postpone the auction of
properties with tax debts scheduled for Sept. 15.
In a letter dated Aug.
5, Paul Kaludjak, the acting president of NTI, formally requested that city
council delay the auction until concerns over its implications could be addressed.
"We are sure you will
understand that it is in everybody's interest to examine further many of the
same issues that are impacting upon our beneficiaries and the City of Iqaluit,"
the letter reads.
The city wants to sell
off the properties of Iqaluit's worst tax evaders. Some residents have not paid
municipal taxes in years and the 17 properties that are set for auction owe
the city $600,000 in back taxes altogether.
The memo asks Mayor John
Matthews to consider the larger issues around the proposed auction, including
the possible impact it would have on the city's homelessness problem.
"In taking in to account
the above we are formally requesting the City of Iqaluit to postpone the upcoming
auction, currently slated for September 15, 2003, until a multi-disciplinary
group of representatives from all levels of government and community can be
convened to look at the issues and challenges involved," the letter reads.
Matthews was out of town
and could not be reached for comment.
City councillor Chris Wilson,
who is acting as mayor in Matthews absence, said though he had not seen the
letter and could not speak for Matthews, he did not believe postponing the auction
was necessary.
"This has been a long
due process and all these avenues have been exhausted, Wilson said. "Further
11th hour stays as it were, in my experience, don't resolve anything."
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