Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Apr 12/99) - Iqaluit's Nunavut celebrations left behind much more than the organizers had originally bargained for -- at least $1 million in revenue to be exact.

Or so says Mike Hine, the president of the Iqaluit Chamber of Commerce.

"I've got a ballpark figure in excess of $1 million, including hotels, accommodations, meals and catering," said Hine last Friday morning, just one week after the celebrations had officially wrapped up.

"Over a three to four- day period, that's over a million bucks."

Hine explained that such a windfall created several short-term jobs in Nunavut's capital, which translated into increased cash flow, at least for a period of a few days.

"I wish it could be sustained, but it was kind of a short-term hit," said Hine.

All of the town's businesses were positively impacted by the massive influx of people and Hine noted that the local carvers did particularly well.

"Overall, it's good for the whole community. It's the trickle-down effect. Everybody benefits from that many people in town."

Colleen Dupuis, one of the organizers of the giant party, put the number of well-wishers, tourists and reporters who arrived in Iqaluit somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500.

"We don't have an exact number and there's no way of knowing," said Dupuis, who took on the role of finding accommodations for many of the visitors.

"The number of people we accounted for was around 700, but it could have been double that. On March 31 alone, 450 people came in on four jets. Only 170 of them did we know who they were. That's not counting up island and in just one day," said Dupuis.

With such a population boom, all four of the town's hotels were booked solid and the Navigator Inn reportedly had a full house for more than three weeks.

"From about two weeks before the Nunavut celebrations right up until April 6, we had a full house," said Doreen Follot, the office manager at the Navigator.

Also experiencing a drastic rise in sales in the establishment's dining room and lounge, Follot said they received a barrage of daily phone calls from people hoping to secure accommodations.

"They were constantly phoning us, two and three times a day, looking for a place to stay."

A server at the Frobisher Inn said her establishment experienced a similar rush.

"Normally, the dining room is kept at a steady pace, but during the Nunavut celebrations, it was constant. We had extra servers on and every waitress was working a double shift," said Marsha St. Martin, a relative newcomer to the waitstaff at the hotel.

She had no complaints however, about the busy days or the kind of money that circled through the restaurant.

"Oh yes (it was profitable). It was a good time to be a waitress and it was a lot of fun."

Prepared for the kind of trouble that could possibly develop with that many people in town, Sgt. Lindsey Brine of the Iqaluit RCMP said that 45 extra police officers were brought into town to help the 40-member local force keep the peace. Luckily, the week proved to be a quiet one.

"It was extra quiet for us. Surprisingly quiet," said Brine.