Darrrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Apr 24/02) - Nobody was more surprised than the Rankin Inlet Radio Committee when the hamlet revoked its right to obtain bingo and lottery licences, says the committee's chairperson.

Ishmael Naulalik, who has been with the Radio Committee since 1999, says the committee ran bingo games for years without any direction.

He says members were never informed they were responsible for keeping complete financial records.

"Most of the committee members are elders, and they don't know a lot about proper paperwork and bookkeeping," says Naulalik.

"Why did the hamlet tell us these things now? If they had let us know in the past -- these are the things we're supposed to do -- everything would have been done."

Naulalik says the committee used to be a society and only found out that status had been revoked during a recent meeting with council.

He says committee members were shocked to hear they haven't been a society since September 1998.

"Who was supposed to let us know we had to reapply? It's not our fault we didn't know. We've always followed the bylaws of the hamlet for bingo licences."

Naulalik says when the committee was informed it was going to be audited, it turned over all the paperwork it had at the radio station.

He says members were also surprised to find out they were supposed to have an actual payroll done for their employees.

"We never knew any of these things. We tried to make it right by changing our name at a public meeting and reapplying for a new licence. The hamlet refused us a second chance and told us they were going to form their own radio society and start their own station," he says.

"Nobody at the radio committee did anything wrong. We'll continue on until our money runs out and that will be it, I guess."