Co-op proponents seek building permit

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Do you wince at the selection of fresh vegetables in Iqaluit? Ever cruise the hardware aisles and long for more nuts and bolts?

There could be yet another one-stop shopping outlet in town if the Iqaluit co-op planning committee receives approval to build the city’s third retail grocery store.

The City of Iqaluit issued a demolition permit to bulldoze the old Toonoonik Hotel on Jan. 15. The request for a permit to build a new store is before city councillors.

The 1,200-square-foot beachfront lot is situated between the Canadian Coast Guard building and the Discovery Lodge.

“There’s still lots of hurdles but it’s closer than it ever was before,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, one of a dozen Iqaluit residents lobbying for the co-op.

One of the major hurdles is drafting a strategic plan. This plan will determine if the store will sell snowmobiles and clothing, for example, as well as produce and bulk foods. The 200 co-op members in Iqaluit must also consider recruiting another 800 members who will pay several hundred dollars to buy start-up shares, and fork out extra cash for annual membership fees.

The start-up shares are collateral for Arctic Co-operatives Ltd., the umbrella company governing the 35 co-ops in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. ACL will pay the initial bill to build the store.

A members-only meeting Feb. 7 to 9 in Iqaluit will lay the groundwork for the strategic plan.

On Feb. 24, the plan will go to the Co-op Business Development board. If the board is satisfied a co-op is economically feasible, then it’s just a matter of time before a new store is built.

Thomas hopes construction supplies arrive on this year’s sealift. Shoppers could be pushing carts down freshly polished aisles as early as a year from now.

Iqaluit is one of the few Nunavut communities without a co-op store. However, the city already has two major grocery stores.

“Of course [we’re aware of the competition]. When you’re building any enterprise the whole market is analyzed. But we know what we want. We hope to be able to provide more economically priced food,” Thomas said.

Residents at a meeting in June 2002 expressed resounding support for a co-op store in Iqaluit.

Prohibitive land and building costs have thwarted similar attempts to open a co-op in Iqaluit in the past.