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RANKIN INLET
The community of Rankin Inlet is rallying together after the news of a motion being passed this past week to drop government funding for planning and design of a new community complex.

Mayor Pujjuut Kusugak said he was pretty disappointed to hear support for Rankin's complex was denied.

He said many people in the region know Rankin hosts a lot of tournaments and meetings, and, with the Kivalliq Trade Show now in the picture, the community is in need of more space.

"Having an arena and community hall that would accommodate the size of Rankin would benefit the Kivalliq and Nunavut," said Kusugak.

"Sometimes it seems like some people think it's always the same communities benefitting and wonder why more isn't happening in theirs.

"Maybe it's time to focus on what they can do to benefit their communities and not focus on denying other communities of much-needed infrastructure."

Despite that, Kusugak said this is not the time for Rankin to feel slighted or get upset by the decision.

He said the plan was always to take the project one step at a time, so, as long as the arena-only submission is supported, the community will work even harder to realize its dream of a new complex.

"Everyone knows Rankin is a hockey town, but it's not just about that.

"Rankin is the hub of the region and, with the possibility of Meliadine (gold project) starting up, we're going to be taking people in from across the region who will move to our community for employment.

"We're trying to accommodate the growth of the Kivalliq, not just Rankin, and that's always been our position during the planning process.

"So if we have to work harder, locally, to make that happen, Rankin has shown many times in the past its ability to get things done and I'm confident we can do it again."

Planning committee member Damian MacInnis said he was sincerely disappointed when he heard the news.

He said the study proposal was something people worked hard on as a community-based group.

"This wasn't driven to get the government to pay all the expenses," said MacInnis.

"This funding was just to get the project off the ground.

"The fact we put countless hours into this really took the wind out of our sails."

MacInnis said the project was always meant to be a three-phase venture.

He said while the $500,000 would have been spent on an engineering project that included the entire complex, the first phase would have been the arena and that falls within the criteria followed in every Nunavut community.

"It's encouraging to see the arena should go ahead, but we want to see this complex completed and the whole community to be engaged in the process.

"We want to make this a major establishment in the North, and it's a step in the right direction for community infrastructure that's needed.

"Our main goal was always for this to be a community-driven project, not a government project.

"There's other ways of funding - federal, industry, private business and corporate - and I'm confident we'll be able to tap into those avenues to complete the complex once the arena is built."

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