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Around Iqaluit

October 1, 2004

Decisions, decisions, decisions

On Tuesday, Iqaluit city council also:

gave its last reading to by-laws on curbing noise in Iqaluit and regulating the city's taxi licenses;
approved survey sketches for some of the new building projects in Iqaluit, including Joamie School, the justice centre, the co-op hotel and store and hospital;
agreed to deposit $50,000 from the sale of membranes and other equipment in the sewage treatment plant to create a reserve account for the future cost of leased equipment;
announced the appointment of councillor Chris Wilson as councillor for Apex.

October 1, 2004

HTO building to go ahead

The new two-storey office building planned for the Amarok Hunters and Trappers Organization next to the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum building on Sinaa St. may go ahead, but with a few changes, city council decided at this week's meeting.

The council said the building needs to be closer to the road than proposed, even if this means losing a bit of floor space, although it did approve a variance on one metre to the minimum lot length frontage requirement of 35 metres.

The council also said nine parking spaces instead of required 10 would be acceptable for the new HTO building and store.

October 1, 2004

Booze-drug offences rise sharply in August

Sgt. Ed North told Iqaluit city council this past Tuesday that August was a "busy" month for members of the Iqaluit RCMP detachment.

There had been a "significant" rise in the number of calls dealing with drunkenness from this period last year, North said. This increase has upped demands on police in Iqaluit and caused the local detachment to ask for more officers.

Some 628 complaints were filed with the RCMP in August and nearly 200 people ended up in RCMP cells, for at least one night each. Not all, said North, were there for intoxication.

To date this year, the RCMP has dealt with 50 cases of public intoxication.

More booze is in the city, North said, because bootleggers are managing to bring in more legally-ordered alcohol.

RCMP are trying to clamp down on their practice of repeatedly using Nunavut alcohol permits with different outlets in the South.

Councillors expressed concern over the growing number of booze- and drug-related incidents taxing the RCMP's resources, but suggested more education on how to drink reasonably is needed.

"Trying to get more RCMP officers isn't all the answer," said councillor Annie Gordon.

October 1, 2004

IDEA welcomes new member

Mike Courtney has joined the Iqaluit District Education Authority and will serve a two-year term until the IDEA holds its next elections in 2006.

The seat became available last June when board member Kathy Smith resigned.

Courtney has been involved with Iqaluit youth for many years through community organizations such as the Pairivik Daycare and minor hockey. He works for the Government of Nunavut on special municipal projects.

The IDEA welcomed Courtney at their meeting in the Nakasuk School library on Monday.

October 1, 2004

Students aim for Greece and Italy

An Iqaluit student trip to Mexico next April has been changed to a student trip to Italy and Greece in April 2006.

Twenty-three Inuksuk students in Grades 8 to 12 had originally signed up for the trip.

Organizers Barb Young and Renata Solski made the destination change when they saw the new EF catalogue offering a 13-day tour to Italy and Greece for $4,360 per student. This trip cost $350 more than the tour to Mexico, but both felt that it provided better value, partly due to the recent hype over the Athens Olympics and partly because Grade 8 students at Inuksuk all study ancient civilizations.

The pair made the date change when they learned that EF, the company providing the 13-day tour, required all fees to be paid by December 15, 2004. Many of the 23 students who had signed up for the trip were unable to make the payments by that time.

"There are no kids who could not get a job to earn the money," Young told the Iqaluit District Education Authority on Monday, adding that the extra time will give more students a chance to come up with the funds.

October 1, 2004

IDEA eyes rental fees for funds

The Iqaluit District Education Authority is still debating what to do with money generated by renting school property.

Out of four schools in Iqaluit, Inuksuk High School raises the most money, largely because it is the only school with a commercial kitchen.

The IDEA wants to see all rental money go into a general improvement fund to be shared amongst all of Iqaluit's schools, at the discretion of IDEA members.

Otherwise, "the IDEA has no capacity to fix problems in the school," said Katherine Trumper, an IDEA board member.

The school principals, on the other hand, suggested that only a portion of the money go into an Iqaluit-wide fund, while the rest goes towards the school that is putting time, effort and labour into organizing and hosting renters.

"Our place is crawling day and night," said Inuksuk principal Terry Young.

The committee deferred further discussion of the subject until a second reading of the policy on school rental at their next meeting, October 18.

October 1, 2004