Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 29/98) - Some Iqaluit residents are attempting to reactivate a local co-op which has been dormant for several years.

If the project is successful, local consumers could see food prices drop as early as this year, Hunter Tootoo said.

Tootoo chairs a steering committee set up to examine restarting the co-op. "The main focus right now is with groceries. That seems to be what a lot of people want and are crying out for. There's a need for good quality and competitive prices," Tootoo, who has been involved with Arctic Co-operatives Ltd. for several years, said.

A co-op would compete with The North West Company's Northern Store.

Talk of restarting the Iqaluit co-op comes days after xxxNews/North reported Arctic Co-operatives is looking at starting up in Inuvik. That move followed the acquisition of Arctic Art Gallery in Yellowknife.

With a successful feasibility study completed, the only thing holding the Iqaluit project back is finding a partner and a location for the proposed 1,350 square metre retail operation, Tootoo said.

With building and set up costs estimated at $3 million, he said an arrangement with the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation is the best possible solution.

"The most desirable option is to look at a joint venture with someone like Qikiqtaaluk Corp.

"More and more, if Nunavut is going to be successful, the different Inuit-owned organizations have to work together," says Tootoo.

Qikiqtaaluk Corp. president Jerry Ell said the corporation's board is strongly considering partnership and will hopefully have approval in principle on the share structure by the time the board meets in mid or late July.

He added the corporation's interest in the project lies in providing some of the much needed office space in the capital of Nunavut.

"We've been talking with Arctic Co-operatives Ltd. and looking at a possible joint- venture where both Qikiqtaaluk Corp. and the co-op look at putting together an office building with a retail operation," Ell said.

One possible location includes land currently occupied by the Office of the Interim Commissioner although other sites are also under consideration.