INUVIK - If Inuvik's chamber of commerce resurrected itself, business owner Joe Lavoie wouldn't hesitate to join the club.

"I think businesses have to start working together here," said the co-owner of Arctic Foods and Home Hardware.

Joe Lavoie, co-owner of Inuvik's Home Hardware, said he would support a chamber of commerce in the town. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

"Sometimes businesses have certain concerns that are slightly different than the citizens of the community might have. Sometimes there might be certain tax laws that might have a direct effect upon businesses or certain labour laws that also effect businesses as well. It would be great to have a forum where we could work together."

The idea of bringing back the local chamber was proposed by John Curran, executive director of the NWT Chamber of Commerce, last June at the Petroleum Show.

His presentation centred on how the organization could help strengthen the local economy through an exchange of ideas on topics such as promoting local businesses to tourists to facilitating training programs and workshops. Also he said it would be linked with the NWT Chamber at Commerce, which includes 865 members, giving Inuvik businesses a louder lobbying voice with both the territorial and federal government.

But since June there's been very little progress made on getting the organization off the ground.

"We need to find a champion that really wants to drive it," he said. "That hasn't happened."

Curran will be back in Inuvik on Tuesday, Oct. 20 for a reception celebrating National Small Business Week. The event at Tonimoes at 7 p.m. is sponsored by the NWT Chamber of Commerce and will provide an opportunity to again discuss establishing a local chamber of commerce.

Lavoie said currently he's too busy to take a leadership role with the chamber if it were to get off the ground, but added he would consider it at some point.

He said if such a group did emerge, he would like it to get involved in fundraising initiatives for projects such as the proposed Children First early childhood development centre. But he acknowledged many business owners are too busy to devote much of their time to a local chapter.

"It's tough in town," he said. "I know a lot of business people in town. They're short-staffed; they do a lot of different volunteer work. They belong to different organizations. They are probably stretched pretty thin."

Whoever is elected mayor Oct. 19 will speak at Tuesday's event at Tonimoes.

Mayor Derek Lindsay was president of Inuvik's last chamber of commerce more than five years ago, which lasted only a year.

He agrees that businesses have to start working together. He said if he is re-elected mayor, he would be committed to getting it up and running again and would call a meeting of local business people together.

Lindsay said he would also propose giving the town's business licence revenue back to the chamber to help make it sustainable.

"There's a lot the group could do to promote tourism, for example," said Lindsay. "They have to be community minded and get events happening. But for some reason business owners here like to work independently."

Mayoral candidate Denny Rodgers sat in on meetings aimed to try to revive the chamber. He said it was difficult to try to revive the group because business was booming and people didn't have time to commit to the organization. He said that may change since Inuvik's currently in an economic slump.

"What's the downfall?" he said. "There's nothing negative about a chamber of commerce and I would help efforts to try to get going."