Local politicians grasp at straws in bid to make city safer while nothing changes
Close the beer and wine store if you must, but it’s time for Iqaluit city council to do something instead of talking about doing something to address the violence and public drunkenness.
Asking the Government of Nunavut to close the store is the latest suggestion to a problem councillors have complained about for years.
“I’ve heard people talking about the problem of alcohol,” Coun. Methusalah Kunuk said at Tuesday’s meeting. Councillors yet again bemoaned the violence and public drunkenness they say is connected to the beer and wine store.
Yeah. Everyone has. Over and over.
Coun. Romeyn Stevenson suggested Tuesday that council consider a motion calling on the Government of Nunavut to close the store that opened in 2017.
Closing the store is a bad idea. It would punish people who drink responsibly and would drive others into the waiting arms of bootleggers. That would create a new set of problems without significantly tackling the abuse of alcohol.
In the spring of 2024, Coun. Kyle Sheppard mused about using special occasion declarations to effectively create a temporary alcohol ban in a bid to curb drinking in public places.
Nunavut law allows a municipality to temporarily ban alcohol sales for two weeks during a special occasion, such as a holiday or a festival.
Stringing three declarations back to back to back would essentially cut off sales for an entire summer, Sheppard suggested then.
Councillors, however, never acted on the idea, which proved to be idle chatter.
Instead, back then, councillors unanimously approved Sheppard’s motion calling on the GN to “contribute to a solution” by enforcing the Liquor Act.
Sound familiar? There seems to be a pattern. The store stays open. Councillors complain about the negative effect public drunkenness has on the city. The RCMP steps up some patrols. The GN promises to listen. The cycle continues.
It’s not just councillors talking about what needs to be done.
In June, Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone raised the idea of reforming the Liquor Act to allow people convicted of violent crimes to be “blacklisted” from buying alcohol.
In March, Nunavut Finance Minister Lorne Kusugak said the government is looking for a “better location” for the store.
Last week’s end of the legislative assembly and the start of a territorial election campaign means the government isn’t likely to do anything until next year at the earliest.
Fortunately for Iqaluit, a territorial election is underway. What to do about the beer and wine store should be one of the issues for candidates running in the four Iqaluit ridings.
Now’s the time for candidates in Iqaluit to state what they would do as an MLA to help the city deal with this nagging social issue.
By coming up with ideas like closing the store, using special occasion declarations to ban sales, moving the store or blacklisting troublemakers, it’s clear that local politicians are expressing the frustrations of the people they represent.
Clearly, something needs to be done so Iqalummiut can feel safer. Instead of talking about what action to take, councillors should take some action and move forward. The status quo isn’t working and just leads to more and more complaining.