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NNSL Photo

Holman hunters, left, Donald Notaina and Ross Klengenberg clean a muskox in this March 2004 photo. The community has received 25 personal freezers, but residents say it's too little, too late. - NNSL file photo

Meat rotted when Holman freezer shut

Dorothy Westerman
Northern News Services

Holman (Sep 06/04) - New freezers distributed to 25 Holman families last week came too little, too late for those needing meat storage space, said a long-time resident.

Donald Inuktalik said he has many concerns about the way the transition from a traditional community freezer to the use of personal freezers was handled.

Inuktalik said residents who had meat stored in the community freezer were given either no warning at all or inadequate notice it would be shut down late last spring.

"All of a sudden, without notifying our community members, the power was shut off. I started questioning why a community meeting was not held to tell everyone," Inuktalik said of the concerns he raised at a recent council meeting.

The freezer, which was operated by Holman's public works department, was turned over to RWED, which then cut off funding for its operation last spring.

"What a time -- especially in the spring when people are storing for next season."

He said more than 60 boxes of meat stored in the freezer were left to rot, unbeknownst to its owners.

"I feel they should be charged with meat wastage," Inuktalik said of those responsible for turning the power off.

To make things worse, Inuktalik said the Hunters and Trappers Committee was left to clean up the mess of mouldy, rotted meat once it was discovered.

"They didn't help to clean it out," he said.

Didn't check for meat

Holman Mayor Gary Bristow said residents were sent two newsletters informing them of the closure, though Inuktalik denies ever receiving such a letter.

"People seem to be making us out as the bad guys, but people were told it was not going to re-open," Bristow said.

"What was amiss is that we didn't check to see if all the meat was removed."

Bristow said the 25 freezers given to the community through an RWED grant were admittedly "a little bit small" but were given to residents throughout the week.

Distribution is based on criteria such as being on income support, being an elder or not being gainfully employed.

But Inuktalik said 25 freezers is nothing more than a token gesture and woefully inadequate for a community that hunts and fishes for its daily sustenance.

"And I don't agree it costs thousands of dollars to keep it operating," he said of the community freezer.

"They didn't ask me if I would pay $30 or so a month for storage."

He said, however, that there is the possibility of re-opening the community freezer if the Hunters and Trappers Committee and the IRC can initiate a funding arrangement, although nothing is finalized.

Meanwhile, Inuktalik said some residents have taken to storing their meat in the old ice house.

"It's not perfect but it's better than nothing," he said.

But while the ice freezer may be adequate during the winter months, Inuktalik cautioned, in the spring, summer and early fall, the meat and fish only partially freeze.