Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Pelly Bay (July 15/02) - More smiling faces is how the deputy mayor of Kugaaruk describes the effect a new batch of jobs will have on his community.

Remi Krikort, a hamlet councillor as well as the deputy mayor of the Kitikmeot hamlet, said last Thursday he was pleased so many local residents were hired to work on the cleanup of CAM-4, the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line site located near Kugaaruk.

Of the 50 personnel hired to undertake the remediation of the abandoned military site, 41 reside in Kugaaruk.

For a community of a little more than 600 residents, that represents a significant boost to the local workforce and the local economy.

"It's good news all around, with all the construction going on at the DEW Line site. It's also good news for the local business people because there will be more cash flow in the community," said Krikort.

"At least their daily lives will be better with all that income," he said.

Hired on earlier this month, project employees will work as long as weather permits -- likely until sometime in October.

Shawn Helmerson, the DEW Line cleanup project contracts manager for Defence Construction Canada -- DCC is a Crown corporation that does construction for the Department of National Defence (DND) -- said the focus of this season's work was to demolish infrastructure.

Helmerson also said Kudlik Construction, the contractor awarded the tender for the cleanup, planned to build a non-hazardous landfill and a hazardous soil landfill.

Excavation of existing landfill sites may also happen if time permits.

"That's the thrust of the work slated for this year," said Helmerson.

DND is responsible for cleaning up 21 abandoned DEW Line sites across Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. DCC undertakes that work for DND, often by hiring local contractors to perform the necessary tasks.

While each site varies somewhat, they are usually contaminated by toxic soil and landfills and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)-painted structures.

Infrastructure like radar domes, radio antennae and fuel tanks also have to be dismantled.

Kudlik has until Sept. 15, 2003 to complete the scope of the work that began last fall.