Kevin Wilson
Northern News Services

Cambridge Bay (Dec 03/01) - Residents of this Kitikmeot hamlet can rest a little easier.

The first of 120 gun cabinets have rolled off the assembly line at the Nanook Woodworking carpentry shop, part of a program to ensure that firearms are safely stored.

The 3/4-inch fir plywood cabinets are nearly two metres high, have an outer lock plus a locked inner space for storing ammunition.

"They're good, solid standard racks," said Elwood Johnston, the hamlet's senior administrator.

"You can fit up to eight rifles in them."

The hamlet council proposed the project last year, in response to concerns from residents who couldn't afford their own gun cabinets.

Johnston said he "chased all over the world trying to get funding."

His chase ended when the Department of Education put up a little more than $45,000 to make the project a reality.

The money paid for four weeks of carpentry training for several people on income support.

"There's a lot of interest," said Nanook Woodworking manager Bob Jancke. He has four income support recipients "working steady" for the entire four weeks of production. The cabinets will be available at the end of this month.

Following the shooting death of an RCMP constable in Cape Dorset last year and a murder-suicide that left three dead in Deline, NWT last summer, the issue of firearms storage has loomed large in many Northern communities.

RCMP detachment commander Sgt. Gary Peck said he and his officers will feel a little safer, knowing firearms are being properly stored.

"A lot of guns are accessible 24-7, so we're very happy," he said.

"If we can limit access to firearms, especially to young children or to teenagers, that's a big help."

People can get a cabinet by calling the hamlet, RCMP, department of education or social services.