Yellowknife (Oct 15/03) - The Royal Canadian Legion Keewatin Branch 169 held its grand opening in Rankin Inlet on Oct. 4.

The event was attended by the Nunavut/Nova Scotia Command president Victor Barnes and trustee chairperson Wilf Edmonds from Nova Scotia.

Nunavut Liberal MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell and Rankin Mayor Lorne Kusugak also took part in the ceremonies.

Branch president John Hawkins said the Legion has been in its new building in Area 6 for almost a year.

He said the grand opening was delayed numerous times in an attempt to ensure as many members as possible could attend.

"The command president comes up once a year," said Hawkins.

"Since we knew he was going to be in town that weekend, we picked Oct. 4 and stuck with it.

"It was nice to see so many people come out to attend the ceremonies or just to have a hot dog and a pop."

Hawkins said local members will be making a conscious effort to show it's a benefit to the community to have a Royal Canadian Legion branch in the hamlet. He said one such initiative will be to have the building used by other community groups and organizations.

"We'd like to see the local cadets use the building for various events, as well as maybe have it open for cribbage and Scrabble tournaments.

"We have to work out the ground rules, but having it available for community events that don't include alcohol would be a positive development.

"We'll do what we can with the money we have, but there's other things we can do to increase our presence in the community."

Hawkins said the Nunavut-Nova Scotia alliance came about two years ago after Nunavut was told it would have to join one of Canada's other commands.

He said the Iqaluit branch checked out a number of commands before looking to the East.

"Nova Scotia was the right size and fit for us, as well as being one of the more progressive branches.

"They have a number of initiatives in the schools that educate students as to the role Canada played in the wars our country was involved in.

"We plan to get involved with similar activities here come the new year."