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INUVIK
The public prosecutor's office in Inuvik will close next spring, likely leaving the new Coast Guard Building empty in 2013 unless new tenants are found.

Another federal office will leave Inuvik next year, likely leaving the new Coast Guard Building empty come 2013. The public prosecutor's office will close in April and the Coast Guard will leave at the end of next season. - Samantha Stokell/NNSL photo

The office, which currently staffs a Crown witness co-ordinator and a legal assistant, will shut down on April 1. Since the Coast Guard of Canada recently announced it will close its five-person office at the end of the 2012 season, the newly built building on Kingmingya may be empty of tenants.

The Inuvialuit Development Corporation (IDC) owns the building, which was completed in 2010, and has a 10-year lease with the federal government, the financial details of which are confidential, said Gerry Roy, the corporation's legal counsel. IDC is not concerned about the lack of tenants.

"We're not worried," said Roy. "Presumably they will find other tenants. It was purpose built for the federal government."

The public prosecutor's office had employed long-time Crown prosecutor Brent LePage, but he relocated to Ottawa in September. The employees serve Inuvik and the Beaufort Delta and will close due to economic reasons.

It's cheaper to fly up a Crown prosecutor and Crown witness co-ordinator from Yellowknife then to operate an office with staff in Inuvik, said Barry Nordin, chief federal prosecutor for the NWT.

"The federal government is committed to be as efficient as possible and sometimes you have to consolidate services," said Nordin. "It doesn't affect court or how we deliver services."

The way court is set up now, judges and court workers fly in from Yellowknife for a week. For the past three months, the court has also sent up a Crown prosecutor, so costs won't change by flying one more person up from now on. The department expects to save $70,000 by closing the Inuvik office.

"Essentially, it's too expensive to keep people employed in Inuvik because of isolation costs, Northern allowances," Nordin said. "Since August 2009 we've always sent Crowns up and the added cost will be offset by office costs. We have space in the Yellowknife offices."

Nordin pointed out that there is a team of four lawyers dedicated to the Mackenzie Delta that is committed to the files and have Northern knowledge.

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