Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 16/99) - A movement is under way to revive the ailing Kivalliq Chamber of Commerce and launch new chapters in Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake to give the region's private sector a strong business voice.

Former teacher and present business consultant Metro Solomon says there hasn't been an active chamber in Rankin for the past few years. Although relatively new to the local business community, Solomon sees the chamber as a vehicle to focus the business community and try to bring about improvements in the hamlet.

"We need to sit down and see where we're going, if we're going anywhere," says Solomon. "It always helps to be organized, and a strong business community means more local employment and there's always good spin-offs from that.

"The people who have had contact with me about it have said it's a good idea and it's time to start."

Acting Kivalliq Chamber of Commerce president Tom Kudloo of Baker Lake says the regional chamber supports communities having their own chapters.

"Nobody has any objections to every community in the Kivalliq having its own chamber and, as a matter of fact, we would support that 5,000 per cent," says Kudloo. "Kivalliq business people are very united in wanting to promote the entire region for the benefit of the local people.

"The more united and stronger the voice, the more effective it is. I've always believed the saying, Œunited we stand, divided we fall.' If we were fragmented into only looking after our own communities, we'd end up having a negative impact on ourselves."

Former Kivalliq Chamber of Commerce president Ray Mercer says the Kivalliq chamber has always represented Rankin Inlet and other Kivalliq communities on any issue they raised in the past.

He says he'll listen to what business people in Rankin have to say, but wonders if there's enough financial resources available to support more than one chamber.

"With the split in government and the downturn in the economy, some funding got pulled away from the chambers and, without any funding, we kind of just slowly died," says Mercer.

"The need we have for a chamber is that it's the political voice for the business community to talk to government or whoever regarding business issues.

"Right now, we miss that and we're trying to find some money to get a regional office going and a person to answer the phones. That's important with tourism staring to get organized, people will need an information office to call."

Mercer says once you have a regional chamber, it's in partnership with the Nunavut Chamber of Commerce, which, in turn, may have a link to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce encompassing the entire country.

"If you have something regionally, your voice is heard by the government through the Nunavut chamber. If there's an issue in the federal government, like the gun control issue, you have a voice through the Canadian chamber to make your feelings known and that's the main basis of it all."