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First step to more beer sales
'Yes' vote moves Rankin Legion closer to its ultimate goal

Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, January 9, 2013

KANGIQLINIQ/RANKIN INLET
A "yes" vote in a plebiscite to remove legal restrictions on the sale of beer this past month was a step forward in the hopes of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 169 Rankin Inlet members to one day function as a real Legion.

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Royal Canadian Legion Branch 169 Rankin Inlet president Gabe Karlik practises his martini-making form at the Legion this past week. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

Sixty-six per cent of those who cast a ballot voted to remove the restrictions.

The result means organizations such as the Legion can soon sell beer to patrons at their events as per the terms of their club licences.

Branch 169 president Gabe Karlik said the plebescite result helped Branch 169 clear the second biggest of the three hurdles left in front of it.

There are now two steps remaining for Rankin to have a true Legion, he said.

"The next hurdle will be trying to get our club licence and then actually taking over our building," said Karlik.

"Once (the Department of) Justice finishes the paperwork involved, we'll apply to the Nunavut Liquor Management Board stating the days of the week we'd like to be able to have the Legion open, which will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

"Then, instead of having to fill out a special occasion permit for every event we hold, we'll only have to do it once a year.

"The management board can still, however, say yay or nay to our request."

Karlik said the Legion simply wants the option of being able to open three days a week.

He said if the Liquor Management Board says yes to its application for a club licence, the Rankin Legion would be regularly open on Fridays and sometimes on Thursdays and Saturdays.

"We want, one day, to actually become a Legion like in Iqaluit.

"The Iqaluit Legion owns our building, so we don't have the power to do any work on it and, because of that, we don't have any paid staff or management.

"Everything is done by volunteer boards and our building, which we rent, is maxed at 66 people.

"We can't expand without Iqaluit's permission."

Karlik said Rankin never purchased the building because it simply wasn't cost effective being open only once a week.

He said the Rankin members plan to try and buy the building if the Liquor Management Board says yes to its club licence application.

"The building needs some major renovations, but the 'yes' vote in the plebiscite was still a big deal for us.

"It's still possible the management board could deny our application, but I can't see any reason why it would.

"The Rankin Legion has never had any major issues, but you never know until you have the licence in your hand.

"We expect Justice to have the legal wording finished within the month and then we'll apply to the board."

Karlik said Branch 169 could never hire paid staff because the money it was making from one event a week was barely enough to cover operating costs.

He said there's no point of hiring staff to manage a building for one day a week.

"If things go our way with the club licence and then owning the building, we'll hire someone to run it like a business.

"At that point, we'll just be volunteer board members acting like, pretty much, an overseeing committee.

"We'd continue to set the direction we want our branch to go and ensure the person we hire is doing a good job running the business."

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