IQALUIT - Progress has been halted on Iqaluit's new cemetery and the whole project might have to be canned because the site chosen may not be suitable.

Iqaluit's old cemetery by the beach has 80 vacant plots left. In approximately three years time the cemetery will be full. Plans for the new cemetery on the Road to Nowhere have been put on hold again until a site assessment is done this spring to see how the site can handle the spring thaw. - Emily Ridlington/NNSL photo

"I find myself not being able to get my words in the right order when talking about the cemetery because it makes me so angry," said city councillor Romeyn Stevenson.

Councillors learned the news at an engineering and public works meeting last month at city hall.

Construction at the new cemetery on the Road to Nowhere began last summer. Work was stopped because the terrain was too rocky and there was concern about standing water and run-off.

Meagan Leach, the city's director of engineering and sustainability, said while the city brought in a consultant when construction started, an adequate engineering design still needs to be done.

Leach was not involved with the cemetery project and has taken on the portfolio.

The city has already invested $400,000 in the project and another $100,000 is coming of out the city's 2011 infrastructure budget for the construction phase.

She told councillors the old cemetery by the beach has 80 vacant plots. The new cemetery has 120 plots ready.

According to city records, about 15 to 30 plots are needed each year. Leach estimates there are enough vacant plots now for the next six or seven years.

Leach presented a possible path forward to council which would mean waiting to see in the spring what condition the new cemetery site is in. This assessment would be done by city staff. In 2012, a request for proposals would be issued. She also suggested putting up signage and barriers to keep people from going into the site on their ATVs.

"What if they confirm it's not suitable, then what happens next?," asked Coun. Joanasie Akumalik.

Leach said if that happened, council would have to re-group and decide where to go from there.

"If you throw enough money at anything you can make it work," she said, emphasizing that is not the city's plan and whatever is decided has to be feasible within the city's means.

The project has already been scaled back as the new cemetery was supposed to have 450 plots.

Coun. Mary Wilman said she supported Leach's initial suggestion to wait until the spring to see what the ground conditions are like at the cemetery.

Fellow councillor Jimmy Kilabuk was not in agreement with this. He said anyone can figure out that one can't dig deep on the site.

"It was a mistake to decide to put it on that site in the first place," he said.

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