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KIVALLIQ
At least one mayor is looking forward to digging up dirt at the Kivalliq Mayor's Meeting and round-table discussions from Sept. 9 to 18 in Rankin Inlet.

Arviat Mayor Bob Leonard wants action on the lack of gravel in his community in September of 2013. - NNSL file photo

Arviat Mayor Bob Leonard said the main issue he's looking forward to discussing is the lack of gravel in his community.

He said a lack of gravel resources seems to be an issue with a number of Kivalliq communities.

"We just don't have any gravel and there doesn't seem to be a plan to move forward in securing a source, or deciding what to do in lieu of that," said Leonard, who asked whether barging gravel in from Coral Harbour was a viable option. "There just doesn't seem to be a lot of action coming from the Government of Nunavut on this."

Leonard said the lack of gravel is making expansion difficult in his community, leaving projects stalled and waiting for action. He said he hopes the mayors take a stand on the issue.

"We have another good-sized housing boom coming along, and there's no gravel to set up the pads or build roads," he said. "It's a fairly serious issue for our community."

Leonard is also looking forward to hearing any updates on a road to Manitoba, adding he doesn't buy into the suggestion the road will never happen.

"A road to Manitoba is going to come to the Kivalliq and I think it's going to evolve into something driven by industry, not government," he said. "A year-round or a winter road are two totally different approaches.

"A winter road will not use the same route as an all-weather road because it will use the lakes and rivers as much as possible."

Leonard said a winter road is viable if the federal government's numbers are right, and the cost of setting up and maintaining it is about $16 million annually.

He said in the big picture, $16 million per year is really nothing.

"I'd just as soon concentrate on getting an all-weather road done once and for all," he said. "Let's join the rest of Canada and get on with it."

Robert Janes, mayor of Rankin, said he has infrastructure on his mind heading to the meetings, listing his top three priorities as a new arena, community hall and hamlet office.

He said a new arena to replace the current "small, run-down and outdated" arena is very important to his community.

"We have so many activities going on there, many of the regional or territorial variety, and we can't fit many people inside," Janes said. "It's not conducive to any good tournament or sporting event that calls for ice."

Janes said there may be reason for optimism with $500,000 allocated for planning and design in the territorial government's capital plan.

He said things could still get interesting, however, depending on how things go in the next territorial election.

"Basically, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so, our new arena and community hall may depend on who eventually gets selected for what portfolio," he said. "There's no guarantee any of our ministers will remain the next time around."

Janes spoke out publicly this past April to say a road to Manitoba will never happen.

But, with the Churchill group coming to Rankin, he said he's interested in what new information they might have and may be softening his stance a bit.

"In a recent article on the priorities needed for Churchill, it was really touted for Rankin Inlet to be at the forefront of whatever they do," he said. "That could get interesting, but (former Manitoba Public Safety minister) Vic Toews has left, and he was a real promoter of a winter road, so I don't know what the dynamics are with his departure."

"I will say it has become a bit more practical than it was the last time we met in Churchill."

Janes said he'd like to see the hard costs of a winter road and how the cost of freight would compare to having it flown in.

He said he can't support the road until he sees the costs associated with it.

"So far, nobody's been able to answer that and it's very difficult to make a hard decision until you have those answers," he said. "A lot of people are saying things, but nobody's saying anything concrete or taking a hard stance, and that makes it difficult to support."

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