Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Apr 12/02) - In a compromise to appease both tourists and Inuvik's elders, a six-unit elders facility will be built but the campground will remain open.

Resources Wildlife and Economic Development Minister Jim Antoine, Housing Minister Roger Allen met with town officials Monday morning to announce that the elder's facility will be built at Happy Valley Campground and RWED will continue to maintain the site.

The land will be transferred from RWED to the NWT Housing Corporation, who will begin construction on the six-unit building this summer.

Mayor Peter Clarkson said the town didn't want to lose the campground, but the deal allows some time to seek a new area for the tourists.

"I think this is at least a good compromise; the six-plex is going where the elders want it and the campground will remain open," Clarkson said, adding that the building won't occupy too much space.

"They will use as small a footprint as they can," Clarkson said. "The rest will remain as a campground." In the meantime, council will look to developing a campground somewhere close to the same location.

He said RWED will continue to operate the campground until the end of this tourist season, when the situation will be re-evaluated.

"They'll meet with town council this fall to see how the arrangement went," Clarkson said.

Before the deal is finalized council plans a meeting with elders this week to see if they approve of the compromise.

"If the elders still want to be on the campground site, then we'll try and accommodate both the campground and the six-plex," he said.

Dennis Zimmerman, manager of Inuvialuit Tourism at Arctic Nature Tours, says scaling back the campground will set back years of work that the industry has struggled with.

"We've been marketing the facilities we have for years in advance and selling the infrastructure we have and now we're almost doing false advertising," Zimmerman said. "I think there are going to be a lot of disappointed tourists this year."

He says about 90 per cent of all tourists come here by way of the Dempster Highway but most just want to cross the line to the Arctic.

"We're giving them more of a reason to turn around at the Arctic Circle, which is what a large percentage of them do anyway," Zimmerman said. "Word will trickle down the highway that we don't have enough campground facilities."

He's bothered that RWED made no attempt to consult with the industry before transferring the land.

"It's disappointing that they would take away tourism infrastructure, which we already don't have enough of it," Zimmerman said. "We have a resource that works; it provides benefit to businesses in town and individuals in town."

He says he's happy that the seniors are getting a new building, but feels the facility could have been built elsewhere rather than encroach on his industry.

"I support an elder's facility -- just not there," he said. "I don't know why they would select a parcel of land that's already being utilized."

"This town is getting busier and our services are already being stretched -- this just compounds that problem," Zimmerman said.

Clarkson agreed that their should have been more consultation with the industry before going ahead with the plan.

"RWED, who is responsible for tourism, did not meet with tourism groups and council has heard from these groups and we've responded," he said. "That's why we had the meeting today; so that we can have a compromise and that we don't lose that infrastructure within the town."

Boot Lake MLA Floyd Roland said the issue was one he's dealt with since his first campaign and he's glad to see something is being done for the seniors.

"I'm happy to see it's proceeding and I'm hoping that things can be worked out that we can keep the tourism operation going as well as establish the beginnings of an elder's facility," Roland said.

"It'll be a phased approach and hopefully it will give us some time to work with everyone involved to come up with some other campground facilities in the community," he said.

At press time, housing minister Roger Allen, RWED minister Jim Antoine, RWED superintendent for the Beaufort Delta Ron Morrison and Inuvik Seniors chair Bertha Allen could not be reached for comment.