QAUSUITTUQ/RESOLUTE - Quttiktuq MLA Ron Elliot wants residents to know Resolute's hotly contested switch to trucked water and sewage from its current utilidor system is not yet set in stone.

"Cabinet has actually not decided yet what they will do," Elliot said.

He added there are still many steps before any final decision is made on the switch.

Currently, the Department of Community and Government Services (CGS) is crunching numbers to compare costs of the two systems, he said.

From there the Financial Management Board (FMB) will need to say yes or no, and if the new system is given the go-ahead it will show up in the capital estimates cabinet goes through in November.

CGS's announcement that it was considering replacing the town's aging - and reportedly disaster-courting - utilidor system raised an uproar at a community meeting in June. Among many things, residents felt the trucked system was less sanitary and much smellier.

They are still not happy about the proposed switch and are not entirely optimistic the government will bend to save the utilidor system, said Duncan Walker, the town's senior administrative officer.

"A lot of people think the government is telling them this is how it is and it doesn't matter what you think - absolutely," said Walker.

The town's history of forced relocation doesn't help the overall sense of trust in the government and the perception of choice, he added.

But that won't stop the town from fighting the change. Walker said he expects once people return from their usual summer trips on to the land council will act - and there has even been talk of a petition.

"We haven't had a council meeting in July ... I'm pretty sure that once people start coming back - and school's back in - that's when things are going to start to heat up," he said.

In the meantime, Elliot said he has heard much concerned feedback from Resolute's residents.

And until the government can prove the trucked system is cheaper in both the short- and long-term Elliot will continue to push on the side of the residents.

"At this point I'm siding with what my constituents have said ... a utilidor system is something that they want," said Elliot, who added in the end he will side with whichever option is more fiscally responsible.

"I'll keep pushing for my constituents until the government can show us the dollars to prove that long term it's (the trucked system) is going to be better," he said.

In June, Shawn Maley, acting deputy minister for CGS, estimated fixing the utilidor system could cost in excess of $30 million and that a trucked system would be much cheaper.

And if that proves to be the case Resolute may just have plug their noses and say goodbye to their beloved utilidor.