Central standard to rule
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Cambridge Bay (Nov 06/00) - After a year of upheaval and rebellion over a unified time zone, the government appears to have caved in to pressure from the communities.
In a move that surprised many, Justice Minister Jack Anawak has announced the government will allow two Kitikmeot communities to return to Central Standard Time.
The decision came after Anawak visited Cambridge Bay last week to discuss the matter.
"I was surprised," said Cambridge Bay Mayor Keith Peterson.
"We were prepared for the worst and thought they'd stay firm," he said.
Meeting with communities
Anawak met Thursday with representatives from Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk.
The two western communities had previously voted to reject the shift because they believe their travel and trade ties were stronger with Yellowknife than the rest of Nunavut and that it was detrimental for them to operate on Eastern Standard Time.
Kugluktuk chose to operate on Mountain Standard Time while Cambridge Bay elected to go to Central Standard Time.
While the communities thought they'd have a battle on their hands, Anawak, in front a packed house, announced that he would consider letting them operate on Central Standard Time.
"It was a big move on (Anawak's) part," said Petersen. "We applaud him and the government for making the move. It saved a lot of anxiety and pressure."
Kugluktuk Mayor Joanne Taptuna said Anawak's announcement was a step in the right direction, even though it will still mean a compromise for her hamlet.
"It's a start," she said.
A seven-person steering committee was struck in Kugluktuk to deal with the matter and Taptuna said they planned to discuss the change.
Puzzled by change
While the Kitikmeot communities are happy, some Baffin towns are angry that the GN compromised with the west but ignored their pleas last year.
"My initial reaction this morning was why, why would Minister (Anawak) be allowing that when we didn't have anything a year ago," said Rita Mike, the senior administrator for the hamlet of Pangnirtung.
When the GN announced its original decision to move to Central Standard Time last October, Pangnirtung was one of the three communities that kept clocks on Eastern Time.
Although a decision approving the change was not expected until Cabinet met this week, a press release issued by the government late Saturday said they had authorized the hamlets to work on Central Standard Time.
