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TUKTOYAKTUK - Aklak Air is attempting to collect more than $100,000 from its customers in unpaid tickets and freight bills from the past four years, according to residents who attended a meeting in Tuktoyaktuk on Oct. 28.

Close to $50,000 of that amount is said to be owing from customers in Tuk, with more owing in other Inuvialuit communities in the region.

Some people at last week's meeting on Aklak Air raised questions about that figure, saying they had already paid their bills.

Inuvialuit Development Corporation (IDC) president James Thorburn would not confirm the amounts owed when interviewed by News/North, saying it's an internal matter.

He said most of the problems were in Tuk, Paulatuk, and Sachs Harbour. Aklak Air is attempting to contact the customers in question about the outstanding amounts but will take customers at their word, according to Thorburn.

"If people tell us something, we're not going to go out of our way to disprove them," he said Friday, adding that some people recently contacted have willingly paid their debts.

Earlier this fall, a four-to-five page printout of Aklak Air's accounts receivable was posted on at least one public bulletin board in Tuk. It is unclear who posted the information.

"We're not exactly sure how it got posted," said Thorburn.

Tuk resident Calvin Pokiak, a former MLA, wasn't at the Oct. 29 meeting but said he is aware of the list of those who are considered owing.

"I've seen the list myself and there must be about $50,000 unaccounted for, or that wasn't collected," he said.

After Pokiak saw his name on the list, he checked into the money Aklak Air stated he still owed.

"Me and my wife, when we looked at it, we paid cash for the bill so somehow that money went somewhere else," he said.

Until recently, Eskimo Lakes Logistics Inc., a company owned by Nunakput MLA Jackie Jacobson, was the agent for Aklak Air in Tuk. Thorburn said Tuktoyaktuk Development Corporation recently took over that contract.

"The term was up and we weren't getting the service we were looking for (from the previous agent)," said Thorburn.

Jacobson couldn't be reached for comment.

Thorburn added that Aklak Air does not suspect wrongdoing in this matter but is concerned about accounting errors that may have happened.

Pokiak said he personally knows of three or four other people who had their name on the list, even though they say they paid their bills.

James Felix said his name appeared on the list once for a bill he is sure he paid. Felix Enterprises, a company he partly owns, also appeared on the list but in most cases he has paperwork to prove bills were paid. He said his company usually pays cash for its freight.

"I have some of the waybills that I will be taking to the Aklak office in Inuvik," he said.

Ernest Pokiak is another resident whose name was on the list for unpaid freight. He attended last week's meeting and said he is skeptical that so many people could have travelled or shipped freight on Aklak without paying up-front.

"Usually, you can't get on that plane unless you pay," said Ernest. "Whomever Aklak has for agencies in the communities, they have to be accountable to what they collect or not collect."