Macolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Mar 08/02) - The future of Happy Valley campground is uncertain in the wake of news that a six-unit elders facility is to be constructed there.

Visitors like Alison Bigg and Matthew Gardner, who stayed in Inuvik's Happy Valley Campground, may be looking for a new place to pitch their tent, if the site is closed to build senior's complex. - NNSL file photo

The Inuvik Elders Committee have long expressed a desire to have an elders facility put in place at Happy Valley. That area was a tent town in the early days of Inuvik.

Recently the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development announced it is giving up its land title to Happy Valley and is transferring the land to the NWT Housing Corporation so the elders complex can be built there this year. RWED has said that running the campground would not be economically feasible with fewer sites.

At its meeting Feb. 27, Inuvik town council decided to attempt to reach a solution whereby the elders building could be put in place, but that the campground could also continue, with perhaps just a few less sites than before.

"There's concerns from council and from community (members)," Mayor Peter Clarkson explained.

"We don't want to lose an asset that's already in town. I think people want to look at a way of being able to have both the elders facility and the campground," he said.

"That's the direction that council's given, so that we can see what we can do in talks with RWED and elders and everybody."

Coun. Clarence Wood said if the elders complex is built at the end of the campground heading towards Aurora College, then there would be plenty of room for most of the existing campsites as well.

"They may use one tent site or something like that. But I'm pretty sure an agreement could be reached," Wood said.

"Our contention is if they find either an alternative location, or if they move it over in that lot, then there's room for both. There's lots of room."

Wood pointed out the town could take over operation of the campground from RWED.

"It's a service to the town because of the number of tourists that come up the highway with those big RVs (recreational vehicles).

If they don't stay there, they're going to stay outside of there," Wood said.

"All these in town businesses are going to lose money, you know, a substantial amount."

Wood said even nearby Chuk Park is too far away for some people to conveniently camp.

"They like everything within walking distance. If we don't have it they're not going to come."

Harmful move

The issue of RV traffic was also raised by Dennis Zimmermann, manager of Inuvialuit Tourism-Arctic Nature Tours.

Recreational vehicle traffic has been the focus, Zimmermann said, "since we've had tourism.

That was the major market we focused on, driving up the Dempster Highway."

Zimmermann said many RV drivers who pull into Inuvik are mature travellers, and are typically not the most mobile.

"For many of them, their RV is their home, so they travel in these things year round."

Zimmermann said this could strike a double blow towards tourism here, because the southern NWT is being "aggressively" marketed as a recreational vehicle destination, therefore potentially taking away business from Inuvik.

"I don't object to an elders facility."

Zimmermann said he hopes there is room for compromise.

"The greatest criticism we have is not enough infrastructure in Inuvik, and here we're taking away one of our greatest resources," Zimmermann said.

"I just see it as a huge waste of taxpayers' money, in that we've invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop this campsite on a GNWT level, as well as the money that our company has invested in marketing the region, marketing the campsites, marketing the services we have."

Zimmermann is also a director on the NWT Arctic Tourism Board, and said this issue was brought up during a recent board meeting.