Iqaluit (Jan 15/07) - They were a list of complaints familiar to many Iqalummiut: homelessness, alcohol, family violence, garbage in the streets.

But Elisapee Davidee-Aningmiuq says meetings like the one held Thursday at the parish hall can help city council develop a "made in Iqaluit solution" to social ills plaguing the capital.

Such meetings will draw ideas from the public and pass them on to the city's Nitsiik committee, which deals with social and community issues.

"The wellness conferences have been taking place since 1996 and I think 1998, so people have been talking about social issues and things they are concerned about for a long time now," said Davidee-Aningmiuq, a consultant hired by the city to run the meeting.

Researchers will next hold a series of face-to-face meetings with people around the city. All the information will be rolled into a draft report Davidee-Aningmiuq hopes will go to the Nitsiik committee by mid-February.

Members of a packed-house audience lined up at the microphone to have their say, though the crowd gradually dwindled as the morning wore on. Speakers raised issues from litter and snowmobile traffic to the availability of mental health services and homelessness.

Hazel Woodley, a psychiatric nurse, said Inuit deserve the same access as southerners to services for homeless women and families.

"There is nothing, nothing for homeless women," she said. "It's going to take more than... the Salvation Army."

Annie Nattaq, wife of Coun. Simon Nattaq, said the city faces a lot of problems, but praised the exercise of public consultation.

"Sometimes we discuss these (issues) in our private homes without anybody listening," she said.

One elder said the city's rapid growth has created problems for people who need wheelchairs. She also urged fellow Iqalummiut to contribute ideas to improve the city.

"Do not look the other way when you see a problem," she said to applause. "Be a part of the solution."