Aquatic centre getting $4 million
Deputy mayor says facility will make residents proud
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, March 7, 2016
IQALUIT
"There's a fundamental shift in the culture of Iqaluit happening today," Deputy Mayor Romeyn Stevenson said during a Feb. 29 press conference in which federal funding of $4 million toward the city's aquatic centre was announced.
Deputy Mayor Romeyn Stevenson talked up the importance of the aquatic centre, currently under construction, for Iqaluit during a newsconference Feb. 29. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo |
"Buildings like the aquatic centre are in the middle of that shift. We're becoming a place where people can be proud to live. This new building will allow Iqalummiut to exercise, to learn new skills, to play, all in a healthy and inviting environment."
The federal funding will help offset some of the capital cost of the centre, which has been estimated at approximately $40 million.
Before and during construction of the facility, much public debate has taken place about whether the city is shirking its duties toward providing essential services by going deep into debt for the new centre.
Stevenson was quick to address that debate in his speech, hearkening back to his first term on city council in 2009 when the plan was officially hatched.
"There had been an earlier drive to create a pool but it had been pushed aside by other municipal needs," said Stevenson.
"Nothing had changed from before the 2009 council - there were still roads to fix, garbage issues, pipes that needed repair, and 30 years from now there will still be roads to fix, garbage issues and pipes that need repair. But the council and the following council after that realized that a city is more than just its essential services. It's more than dumps and roads.
"A city is a place where citizens can feel they have an attachment, that they have pride in their municipality and that they have a desire to balance their leisure time and their work time."
In December, Stevenson toured with the current council inside the under-construction building. He said it was exciting to stand on the soon-to-be pool deck and imagine children playing in the water with elders watching.
"The building will also house a fitness centre, which will allow people a great place to work out and be healthy here in the downtown core in proximity to their work," he said.
The city is committed to building the pool, even though the decision to do so was difficult, he added.
Stevenson was also glad that the city could take the lead in decision making instead of having higher levels of government control the project.
A news release following the announcement stated the $4 million would go toward interest payments on the city's debt.
"This contribution is greatly appreciated and helpful, especially since the city is committed to returning to a balanced financial situation," stated chief administrative officer Muhamud Hassan in the release.
In a response to the Gov. Gen. David Johnston's Speech from the Throne, Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson also stated that the aquatic centre would be a benefit to Iqaluit.
"Its population of 7,000, a majority of whom are Inuit, has no place to teach kids how to swim despite the ocean being both a highway and a breadbasket to the Inuit," he stated.
The project is on schedule and currently forecast to open in 2017.
