.

Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

IQALUIT - RCMP Sgt. Peter Pilgrim of the Iqaluit detachment made a report to city council, saying crime was up "quite considerably," but with certain exceptions.

Traffic offences, "impaired operation" and property crimes such as break and enters, thefts and vandalism have gone up. The number of minor offences such as breaching court orders and failing to appear in court has also gone up.

On the other hand, drug offences have gone down, along with "crimes against persons" such as harassment, threats and assault.

He said despite the overall increase in Iqaluit's crime rate, the city's detachment is the same size as it was last year with 22 members.

Deputy Mayor Simon Nattaq suggested some crime was due to the number of conferences and meetings in Iqaluit where attendees from out of town consider Iqaluit a "place to drink" while away from their communities. Sometimes such attendees drink so much they oversleep and miss their flight home the next day, he said.

"I would like to request anyone who comes to Iqaluit for conferences and meetings to do their duty," Nattaq said in Inuktitut.

Council to apply for money to fix arena

Iqaluit city council voted last week to apply for territorial and federal funding to repair the Arctic Winter Games arena.

Under the funding formula, the City of Iqaluit, the federal government and the territorial government would each pay one third of the $2.2 million cost of the arena's repairs. Only two councillors voted against applying to the feds and the GN for almost $750,000 each: Glenn Williams and David Alexander.

In his opposition, Williams argued the arena had been a money pit for years and spending another $750,000 of city funds on it puts other recreation facilities, including the pool, at risk of not having enough money.

"$750,000 is three-quarters of a million dollars. That is not a good deal," Williams said.

Councillor wants snowmobile crossing signs

In a statement, councillor Jim Little said the city should investigate where the most common places snowmobiles cross the road are, so they can be marked with signs. He said the city should co-ordinate with other communities in Nunavut to create standardized signage for snowmobile crossings which would be recognizable to visitors and new residents.

He asked council to look into where to apply for funds to make the necessary consultations and create the signs.