Council is frustrated by indications coming from the capital that the Petroleum Products Division (PPD) will be relocated to Baker Lake in the new year.

Coun. Justin Merritt says discussions on the relocation took place behind closed doors, without consulting with the hamlet of Rankin Inlet. That, he says, is totally unacceptable.

"This is not the normal way to do business," says Merritt.

"The way the government is going about this is dictating how we react."

Prior to the establishment of Nunavut, the Government of the NWT spent millions of dollars training local Inuit for jobs with PPD.

Mayor Jack Kabvitok says those people are now running the department and are permanent residents of the community.

He says local PPD employees have mortgages on their homes, children in school and have made a large commitment to the community of Rankin Inlet.

"MLA Manitok Thompson has fought hard for this community and we support her all the way," says Kabvitok.

"If Premier Paul Okalik and Minister Ed Picco can do this to Rankin Inlet without consultation, they can do it to other communities."

Although council agrees the Ikuma II report makes good economic sense, it does not explicitly state that PPD should be relocated to Baker.

Coun. Robert Janes says given the government's commitment to decentralization and having 85 per cent of its workforce comprised of Inuit, it should consider moving jobs from the capital.

He says there has to be an economic and social impact study conducted to find out how such a relocation will affect Rankin, and what its long-term implications will be.

"We have to ensure the report is not accepted until there is full consultation with the people," says Janes.