Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

ARCTIC BAY (Sep 07/98) - When the melodious tones of Constable Stephane Bonin go out over the Arctic Bay airwaves, you can bet your AM/FM radio that plenty of households are tuned in.

"We did one last Tuesday and we had scheduled it for only one hour but it lasted for an hour and a half. We had to shut down because we got so many calls," said Bonin, of the community phone-in radio show that Arctic Bay/Nanisivik RCMP officers have been hosting for over two years.

Beginning on March 2, 1996 with the topic of teen suicide, the show has dealt with subjects such as self-confidence and identity in teenagers, all-terrain vehicle safety, death and grieving and substance abuse.

New to the community, Bonin chose to go without a specific issue during his debut late last month and the results were remarkable he said.

"We had no topic, we just took calls and three lines were busy all the time."

He said he received about 35 calls from different households -- about 20 per cent of the homes in Arctic Bay -- and that the ages ranged from 15 to 65 years. Issues

like impending gun legislation and firearm storage and how to become a police officer were raised and some residents used the line to report crimes.

"People were even calling in to give information on drug dealers," said Bonin, who explained that due to the sheer volume of calls and the sensitive nature of some of them, he got his translator to answer the phone beforehand to screen the calls.

"People didn't want to go on the air and say 'so and so is dealing drugs.'"

A repeat performance is scheduled for September 15 at 8 p.m. Bonin said this time, because of recent reports of gas sniffing, substance abuse was planned as the topic of the show but that he was open to future ideas.

"We go with the flow, with the community beat."

Health centre employee Iga Qamaniiq said that listening to the RCMP broadcast taught her and other people about safety issues.

"They go on the radio and talk about everything. I think that helps," said Qamaniiq. Because of the popularity of the program, the service it provides to the community and the fun he had doing it, Bonin said he planned to hold it every three weeks from now on.

"It's a very good community project and I believe in that. There's no better way to reach at least 35 families in one night."