Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (July 03/02) - An increase in rates for garbage pickup is leading to a showdown between the hamlet of Rankin Inlet and Piruqsaijit Ltd.

A private homeowner pays $300 a year for garbage pickup in Rankin. Government departments are charged $75 per month and private businesses are charged $20 per pickup.

A change in the interpretation of hamlet bylaw No. 87 during the summer of 2000 saw Piruqsaijit's rates for three buildings jump to $2,125 from its previous $450.

Senior administrator Ron Roach said the hamlet classifies a house or an apartment as a private residence.

He said Piruqsaijit is the only company in Rankin to balk at the increase.

"All of a sudden Piruqsaijit said it wasn't paying the new rate because the jump was too high," says Roach.

Piruqsaijit Ltd. has an agreement to administer private housing for government employees with the Department of Public Works. The deal includes a clause allowing the company to pass on extraordinary costs to the government at year's end.

Roach said he's been informed the government is not willing to pay the rate hike.

That's led to a meeting this week between Piruqsaijit general manager Hilary Rebeiro, Brian McKay of DPW and Roach.

"We're hoping to come up with some sort of compromise," said Roach.

"If not, the hamlet will decide whether to write the difference off or hand it to our lawyers for legal action."

Roach said rates in Rankin are very affordable.

"People in Rankin only pay $25 a month for garbage pickup and their land lease.

"If we were to go to a tax base, garbage rates may stay the same, but homeowners would probably pay $3,000 more a year in taxes."

Rebeiro said it's not fair for the hamlet to expect any business to absorb that high of an increase at once.

"We aren't questioning if the rates were too low to start with, but if they should be increased that substantially all at once," said Rebeiro.

"Another problem we have is that a decision of this magnitude should be decided by council, not the SAO. Otherwise, why do we need the council?"

Piruqsaijit has been advised by its legal counsel to pay the former rates and negotiate the new rates. Rebeiro said it's not ethical to simply pass the rate increase off to the territorial government.

"I'm not an ombudsman for the territorial government, but we couldn't, in good conscious, go along with this. If you want the private sector to grow, you just don't dump increases like this in its lap."