The meeting was held Nov. 7 and two justice department officials -- one from Inuvik, the other from Yellowknife -- chartered a plane from Inuvik to Sachs.

"Instead of spending all that money to tell us they are taking $10,000 away, flying all the way up here, they could've given us that money," said Beverly Esau, the committee's chair.

Regional community justice co-ordinator Matilda DeBastien, from Inuvik, and Darcy Fleury, the NWT director of restorative justice from Yellowknife, flew to Sachs to meet with the committee.

The only airline servicing Sachs Harbour from Inuvik is Aklak Air. Committee members believe the pair arrived in a Beechcraft King Air 100, which seats eight to 10 people, and costs $3,422 plus GST to charter from Inuvik.

It is uncertain how much it cost for Fleury to travel from Yellowknife to Inuvik. A Canadian North return flight costs anywhere from $648.42 to $1,333.

Committee co-ordinator and hamlet senior administrative officer, Phil Moon Son said the meeting was heated but lasted only about 30 minutes. The pair then returned to Inuvik on their near empty charter flight.

"We were amazed that he (Fleury) would have the gall to charter in and tell us that he's going to cut our funding," said Son. "It made us more angry by the fact that they actually flew in. It's like rubbing salt into the wounds."

Son said the funding cut came from $20,000 promised by the Department of Justice to pay the salary of a part-time co-ordinator. The committee usually gets $10,700 a year.

Fleury was on holidays and could not be reached for comment. Shirley Kemeys Jones, an assistant deputy minister for the Department of Justice, said they pulled the funding because the Sachs justice committee was dragging its feet, and an opportunity to use it elsewhere -- Tsiigehtchic -- came up.

"I can see where they're coming from but at the same time, if that extra $20,000 is for a co-ordinator (then) how much of a salary would that be from November to March," said Kemeys Jones. "So we thought $10,000 was lots."

She also said since it was eventually decided that Son would become the co-ordinator for the committee in addition to his duties as SAO, and the extra money would therefore go towards his salary, the hamlet could subsidize the rest.

She agreed, however, that the committee could have been told about the cut over the telephone.

"That's a good point," said Hemeys Jones. "We usually do what they (communities) want... Sometimes they say we need to talk to you about this, and this (meeting in Sachs) was kind of important. They were talking about some policing stuff as well. So, I guess it warranted the trip in."

She said the regional justice co-ordinator usually visits three or four times a year, by an RCMP plane if possible.

Government called meeting

Son said it was the GNWT that called the meeting. He also blamed government delays for holding up the committee work and said the money he was due to receive from the grant would be donated to back to the committee to fund justice programs.

"I don't think me being the justice co-ordinator should be an issue," said Son. "If they felt (I) was receiving all this additional money without donating it back and doing all his work during hamlet time then that's an issue... I don't think it was fair of them to jump the gun."