Is the City of Iqaluit leaderless and floundering?

Sadly, the City of Iqaluit, Canada’s newest capital city is leaderless. This vital community continues to flounder from crisis to crisis.

Vast sums of money are being spent on a super swimming pool that will cost more than $6,000 per day for another 22 years at five per cent interest, which does not include operating costs.

This massive structure currently under construction is situated on land that may not be able to withstand the weight of all that water. It could very well develop problems, like so the so-called Arctic Winter Games arena, requiring vast sums of money to maintain it after it began to sink into the tundra.

The Iqaluit dump, which has self-ignited, is now filling the air with foul-smelling smoke. The original plan that was put forth by Mr. Paul Crowley was an idea that met with approval by the local council at the time. However, the plan did not present an alternative.

Consequently, it is now a far worse hazard to the health of the people than it was before the change was made.

It is hard to understand why the fire department is using expensive treated water to try to extinguish the flames. Water that is produced in a very sophisticated treatment plant costs about three cents a gallon.

It should be noted that some years ago, the water lake ran dry. The lake suddenly dried up. Huge pumps were flown into town and they were used to move water about in the current lake.

Much of the loss was caused by the high number of leaks in the supply system. The dump is sitting within a few dozen feet of Frobisher Bay, which has an inexhaustible supply of water. A pump and a few feet of hose could pour millions of gallons of water onto the smoldering mess each day.

I had the misfortune the other day of driving to Apex. The road is a tragic mess of potholes and dangerous bumps, which cause severe damage to vehicles and in particular, the city’s own vehicles.

The solution is easy. Remove the surface. It is nothing more than a patchwork mess of cold patch holes and asphalt. Scrape the surface clean. The public works department of Iqaluit can do it themselves, after all they probably have more heavy equipment than the cities of Montreal and Toronto combined. The surface can then be graded daily.

There will be a need for dust control. We have a huge supply of salt water. In Apex, a daily soak will solve that problem until the city is able to resolve the issue in the future with a well-constructed road.

One alternative is to use the original plan, which was to build a road along the beach area where there is an old trail. It’s shorter and less hazardous. It would allow better use of the hillsides and afford construction of homes that will be able to enjoy a spectacular view of the bay.

Bryan Pearson
Iqaluit

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