Chris Windeyer
Northern News Services
Monday, March 19, 2007

QIKIQTARJUAQ - Two drivers working for the Hamlet of Qikiqtarjuaq were fired last month following incidents with their work vehicles.

The most recent incident occurred March 6, when a sewage truck driver nearly drove into the hamlet's sewage lagoon.

The truck was 'half hanging into the sewage lagoon,' said a community member who didn't want her name used.

'I'm just floored by this,' she said.

At the end of February an airport worker drove a front-end loader into a pickup truck several times. Both vehicles belonged to the hamlet.

Hamlet SAO Mike Richards said both workers have been fired and face criminal charges.

The RCMP declined to comment on the matters.

'It's just a risk we couldn't take' to have the men continue working for the hamlet, Richards said. 'It was just too big a risk for the community. Fortunately there wasn't a lot of damage to the (sewage) vehicle, but it could have been pretty tragic.'

The driver of the sewage truck was on duty at the time of his accident, though the airport worker was not, Richards said. He said both men had previously been good employees for the hamlet.

But memories of a tragic accident four years ago when a child ran out under a hamlet truck and was crushed to death are still raw in the community.

'It was a pretty tragic thing,' Richards said. 'In my mind the memory is still there. We can't have people coming to work showing any impairment.'

Richards said if the drivers complete substance abuse training, they might be eligible to get their jobs back.