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AUSUITTUQ/GRISE FIORD - Grise Fiord's government office building is in dire need of repair or better yet, replacement, according to the community's economic development officer.

Jimmie Qaapik has been working at a variety of office jobs in the building since the early 1990s and said the structure is overdue for an overhaul at the very least.

"We've had water line problems, leaky pipes sometimes," Qaapik said. "I always try to help out to fix them up."

The building consists of three trailers connected in a U-shape. It was originally assembled to be the community's health centre, nursing station and nurses' living quarters, but these facilities moved to a new building after the septic tank failed in the late 1980s.

Qaapik said that in mildly cold temperatures the pipes connecting to the septic tank have a tendency to freeze, causing the overflow of sink and toilet water onto the building's floor. To avoid this, the pipes need to be periodically thawed with hot water from the bathroom sink. He had to do this twice in one week in late December.

"I do that type of work even though it's not in my job description," he said.

Water pipes into the building have their own problems. Qaapik said sometimes the water coming out of the tap is visibly dirty.

The building's heating vents are also dirty. Qaapik said he does not know when they were last cleaned in his nearly two decades of working in the building. The build-up of dirt in the vents has cut off heating ventilation to one wing, so the office of Grise Fiord's Iviq Hunters and Trappers Organization is often freezing. He said the HTO is forced to replace computers and printers frequently.

Additionally, windows and doors are drafty and there are small holes in the walls and ceiling.

In April 2008, then-premier Paul Okalik visited Grise Fiord with the minister of Community and Government Services and the Quttiktuq MLA and announced plans to build a new government building.

However, last autumn's territorial elections ushered in a new premier, new MLA and new ministers so last year's election promise looks doubtful to Qaapik.

"I won't believe what they say until it's here and I see it with my own eyes," he said.

In his first trip to Grise Fiord as its MLA, Ron Elliot said he was "shocked" at the poor state of the building. He said he invited Premier Eva Aariak to visit and show her what he had seen. Elliot also planned to invite the new minister of Community and Government Services.