Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Jan 14/02) - Deputy mayor Matthew Spence officially resigned from Iqaluit city council last Tuesday.

He hasn't actually been on the job for the past month, however. Spence moved in early December to Yellowknife, where he now works at the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development as a policy analyst.

Deputy mayor Matthew Spence receives a gift from Iqaluit city council on the eve of his departure for Yellowknife. - Jennifer McPhee/NNSL photo

It took Spence nearly a month to resign as he hoped to spend a few weeks each month living here. But the contract with his present employer, the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, ended when the company decided to hire a full-time replacement.

Mayor John Matthews praised Spence at last week's meeting for "incredible contributions made to council."

The former councillor, who ran against Paul Okalik in the 1999 territorial election on an anti-decentralization platform, said his decision to move was primarily personal.

He wants his four children to get to know his parents, who live in Yellowknife.

Despite his still-firm belief that decentralization is costly and unrealistic, Spence said he believes the people have been better served by government since division.

"Like anything, it takes time for things to gel," he said, adding he hopes the government will work closely with Inuit organizations on land claims issues.

He warned that Iqaluit's infrastructure suffers from old age and the water treatment plant is virtually at capacity.

"We'll find a way through that," he said. "It's going to mean increased costs for taxpayers. That's the reality of it."

Spence was more optimistic about the upcoming 2002 Arctic Winter Games.

"Enthusiasm is building in the community," he said. "It's a very high-profile and ambitious project. I think it is going to be great."

Iqaluit probably has not seen the last of Matthew Spence, though. "I doubt I'll stay away forever," he said.