Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 01/05) - A Yellowknife crafts store owner worries that if City Hall follows through on plans to open a public market downtown, it could sink her business.

Karen Guinan, owner of Karen's General Store, opened shop last year in the Kam Lake district, with an aim to provide arts and crafts makers with a venue to sell their wares.

Karen Guinan, owner of Karen's General Store, said she would prefer if the city stayed out of the public market game because it would likely compete with her business.

This year's plans include opening the lot around her store to sell her clients' products outdoors, but now that the city is making a renewed attempt to get a public market going in the City Hall parking lot this summer, she wonders if she will be able to compete.

"If they proceed, it will probably shut us down and all my investments will be lost," said Guinan. "That's all there is to it."

Guinan urged city council to scrap the public market idea at a meeting earlier this month, but it happened to be the same evening where city councillor David McCann made a pitch for the city to take full ownership of the idea themselves.

The market was originally spearheaded by the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, but McCann said the organization was having trouble making time for it. He raised a motion calling for the city to take on the entire project, but after administration rejected the idea, council decided to ask the chamber of commerce whether it wanted to try giving it another shot in collaboration with the city.

A council motion passed last week recommends the city work with the chamber of commerce to develop a plan by June 15.

Can't lose money

Chamber vice-president Trent Fequet told council at the meeting that it was willing to give it another try, but it was important that the chamber wouldn't get stuck with the bill if the market doesn't break even.

"We didn't want to lose money at any costs," said Fequet.

McCann said he hopes a Saturday public market could be up and running by mid-summer.

As for Guinan's store, McCann said he understands her nervousness, but doesn't feel that should stop the city from having a public market downtown .

"The people in Kam Lake, I think, unfortunately have the wrong location," said McCann.

"One of the thrusts of the proposal I put forward has this tourism angle. I feel it's very important that it be in the downtown area in close walking range of the hotels."