In special year, Nunavut co-ops get praise, blame

Not all Nunavut leaders see eye-to-eye on the value of Nunavut’s network of member-owned co-operatives, some MLAs revealed March 6.

Amittuq MLA Louis Tapardjuk, who earlier in his career served as president of Arctic Co-operatives Ltd., rose that day to make a member’s statement reminding his colleagues that 2012 is the International Year of Co-operatives.

“Many of us were there when the co-operatives were first raised and we grew up with the co-ops. It seems obvious that many of us would not be in our situation if we had not been taught about entrepreneurship through the co-op system,” Tapardjuk said.

“I also know for a fact that our forefathers were only able to survive by cooperating and collaborating on their shared survival, especially when animals became scarce. They have been able to survive to this day by cooperation,” he said.

“We also recognize co-operatives as cooperative businesses and through their growth, they are now able to bid for contracts and to also have their own stores that are controlled by their board members.”

Rankin Inlet North MLA Tagak Curley, however, said that while co-operatives have provided services and benefits to Nunavut communities, they have done so using federal government “subsidies” that aren’t available to other small businesses.

Curley claimed, in a member’s statement, that the ACL has received $50 million in federal government subsidies, averaging about $5 million a year.

“Due to that reason, small businesses cannot compete with the Arctic Cooperatives Ltd.,” Curley said.

He claimed the Nunavut government, by choosing which businesses to give contracts to, is interfering with “free enterprise.”

“If we look at the European Union, they talk about a socialist government, that the government basically runs their citizens as to who will provide the businesses and who they will give their contracts to. It seems to me that our government is moving towards a socialist policy,” Curley said.

He also complained that Nunavut co-ops appear to be winning most community fuel distribution contracts in Nunavut.

“It does not seem to be coincidence that fuel contracts are almost all held, which is a $165 million annual contract has been given to the cooperatives,” Curley said.

Curley has been a vocal critic of a recent fuel distribution contract award in Coral Harbour to Katudgevik Co-op Ltd., which took the contract away from Sudliq Developments Ltd., owned by Louie Bruce.

After Curley sat down, Akulliq MLA John Ningark rose to say he partly disagrees with Curley.

“I would like to recognize these cooperatives as being a very important part of our economy in Nunavut. I also recognize free enterprise. I agree with my colleague, but in some way I don’t agree with the total definition,” Ningark said.