Iqaluit (Oct 02/06) - Nunavut's pools are in deep water and sinking fast. With only $655,000 available to repair all recreation facilities this year, fixing the pools may pose a problem.

It may look fine on the surface, but one look under those black mats will show why the pool in Cape Dorset is not working. The metal frame is bent. Here, Cape Dorset recreation director Cheryl Constantineau shows Louie Tapardjuk, minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, and local MLA Olayuk Akesuk the problem. - Kent Driscoll/NNSL photo Status of Nunavut's pools Cape Dorset: bent frame - closed Qikiqtarjuaq: closed for two years Pangnirtung: missing equipment - never opened Iqaluit: new lease signed with Frobisher Inn Cambridge Bay: pipe problems - still operational Rankin Inlet: operational Taloyoak: operational Arviat: operational - experienced some closures due to staffing issues

Pool repairs fall under the Department of Community, Language, Elders, and Youth (CLEY), and the money is distributed through a secret committee.

Joanne Quassa, director of policy and planning for CLEY, would not reveal who sits on the renovation committee.

"I can't say (who the committee members are). It is better not to. It's for their safety. If an application is denied, there tend to be upset people," said Quassa.

She would confirm that she is not a member of the secret three-person panel, and neither is CLEY Minister Louie Tapardjuk. Quassa used to sit on the funding committee when she was the director of community programs.

"It is usually three to four people," she said.

She also confirmed that the committee is budgeted to dole out $655,000 in the 2006-07 budget year. That works out to $24,260 per Nunavut community annually.

"More would be good, it would allow more communities to renovate or upgrade their facilities," said Quassa. "(The facilities) are used a lot. Those who have put in a proposal usually get a good portion of what they ask for."

Every year in late March, there is a call for proposals. After the fiscal year begins in April, the recreation funding working group - the secret committee - sits down and goes through the proposals. If there is any money left over, the committee puts out another call for proposals in September or October.

"We get about eight to 10 proposals a year, but it varies each year," said Quassa.

Recreation centres, curling rinks, hockey rinks and basketball courts are all included in the renovation budget.

Communities with swimming pools are starting to feel the wear and tear of age, and those proposals need to fit into the secret committee's mandate.

Cape Dorset will not be able to re-open their pool next year without funding from CLEY, but the community has other projects too.

"Our number one priority is the arena's Olympia (Zamboni) room. It is closer to opening, so the pool will be our spring priority," said recreation director Cheryl Constantineau.

Constantineau's daughter Rose has been the lifeguard at the pool in Cape Dorset for the past three summers, and was there the day the pool broke down.

"We had an open swim on our last day, August 19. A kid pushed off the side of the pool, like everyone does. I heard a bit of a bang. The metal framing of the pool had bent slightly. Housing told us that we had to shut it down," Rose Constantineau recalled.

The pool in Cape Dorset is very popular with the kids.

"It is very well used. On opening day we had 120, and we average 30 to 40 kids a day," said Rose Constantineau.

In Pangnirtung, the new pool has never opened to the public.

"The opening was postponed until next summer. We were missing a little piece and it took three months to get it," said Pangnirtung's recreation director Levi Ishulutaq.

In Qikiqtarjuaq, the pool hasn't been open for the last two years.

"It's been closed since 2004. We need materials to renovate it, and we needed them two years ago. It was used a lot, and I'd like to see it back," said recreation director Eva Nookiguak.

In Rankin Inlet, the pool opened, but they have some changes they would like to make.

"We are in a bit of a space shortage. We use the same changing rooms for hockey, and we are trying to figure out a way to get the washrooms closer to the pool," said recreation director Jackson Lindell.

Cambridge Bay may need some work done in the near future. They opened their pool for a rare fall session because the incoming recreation director is a qualified lifeguard.

"We had our last swim yesterday. The pipes need some work. The ground is so cold, we are going to have to re-pipe," said outgoing recreation coordinator Bobbi-Jo Grover.

Taloyoak has kept its pool open, and they plan to have a local resident go south to qualify as a lifeguard, saving on the expense of hiring one from southern Canada.

Arviat has a working pool, but retaining a qualified supervisor is the community's major obstacle.

"We closed on August 10, and it was supposed to stay open until August 28. We had trouble keeping a lifeguard," said recreation director Elizabeth Kigusiutnak.

These communities will have to fill out a proposal for CLEY to fix their pools. According to Quassa, the secret committee is looking for some specific things in the proposals.

"What sort of things will be improved, how much will it be used, and the benefit for the community," were the factors Quassa listed.