Rankin Inlet (Mar 30/05) - Hamlet council has decided it needs to take a bigger slice of the community's bingo pie if it's going to continue to provide a top-notch recreation program.

The semi-annual draw for 13 bingo slots over the next six months was conducted in the hamlet this past week.

The hamlet preselected its dates before the draw, taking three weekend nights a month for the recreation department.

The Friday and Saturday slots are the most coveted among groups that use bingo as a fundraiser.

The hamlet also selected a slot per month for special events, search and rescue and the radio committee.

In addition to taking a larger chunk of monthly Bingo revenues, Mayor Lorne Kusugak said the hamlet also has to tighten up the guidelines to determine which groups are eligible for a lottery licence.

"We have to focus our priorities on two areas, the first of which is the various youth groups - be that sport teams or school groups - to ensure they are given every chance to raise the money they need to travel," said Kusugak.

"With adults, priority has to be given to groups that bring people and revenue into the hamlet such as the Avataq hockey tournament and the annual Ski-Doo races.

"I have a fundamental problem with groups like slo-pitch and beach volleyball getting bingo slots to fund their trips.

"We have to ensure bingo revenues help the entire community."

More programs needed

Kusugak said the recreation department is running more programs than ever before and he wants to see even more programs added.

And that means more revenues are needed.

"It wasn't all that long ago, the hamlet used to have every Friday night bingo. "Then, for one reason or another, we took ourselves off those bingos.

"It's only fair for us to take a couple back because that's where the money is and we need more revenue to increase our programs."

Kusugak said the demand for bingo slots has greatly increased during the past 10 years.

He said there was a time the hamlet had no problem in accommodating any group's request for bingo.

"Those days are gone and, as the demand keeps increasing, the hamlet has to prioritize.

"If you don't prioritize, bingo revenues start to benefit less and less of the community."

No private clubs

Coun. Ron Roach agreed with Kusugak.

He stated at a regular council meeting earlier this month that he is a former president of the Nunavut Dart Federation (NDF).

Roach then told council the NDF was a prime example of a group that no longer should be granted a bingo licence.

"The NDF is now nothing more than a private club and I would have a problem with any private club getting a slot to raise funds for its activities," said Roach.

"There is no legitimate territorial event in the hamlet and the money is only being used to go towards the NDF's adult members."

Kusugak also told council the local minor hockey program is in dire need of funding help.

He said minor hockey was steered away from bingo slots when it gained control of revenues from the Lotto booth at the Northern store, but those revenues no longer meet the needs of the program.

"Whether you like hockey or not, there's no denying it is a big part of our community.

"We have to look at letting minor hockey have at least one slot per year to boost its revenues.

"I have no kids of my own in the hockey program, but I still see its importance to the community."

More money, more programs

Rankin recreation co-ordinator Jackson Lindell held last week's bingo draw in the council chambers, aided by Deputy Mayor Hamish Tatty.

Lindell says the recreation department tried to keep the calendar as open as possible for outside groups to have good dates to select from, but the mayor made it perfectly clear before the draw that the hamlet could no longer afford to eliminate itself from all the best bingo nights this year.

"If the community wants quality recreational programming from the hamlet - and there's no doubt that it does - then the recreation department has to take enough prime slots to allow it to make enough money to run that programming," said Lindell.

"You need the funding behind you to run quality programs the whole community can benefit from."