Many step up to help following Iqaluit’s Northmart fire

After the Nov. 8 fire, which took 22 hours to extinguish, this is all that remained of a portion of the Northmart store in Iqaluit, which provided food, furniture, hardware, clothing and medication to the city of about 8,000 and beyond. Police said on Nov. 9 that they had arrested two youth in connection with this fire and five others in Iqaluit on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Now the rebuilding starts, after Thursday’s fire that destroyed the warehouse attached to Iqaluit’s Northmart and badly damaged one of the city’s two major stores.

That’s sure to require a continued effort from many players, to ensure residents remain able to obtain food, medicine and other essentials.

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association decided to deliver seal meat to the elders’ Qammaq on Friday night.

The @Qikiqtani_Inuit & @NTunngavik are working with the Qajuqturvik Food Centre to monitor the impact of the Northmart fire on #foodSecurity in #Iqaluit. We’ve also started a food-drive. Tonight our volunteers will be delivering seal meat to the Elder’s Qammaq. #Inuit #Nunavut pic.twitter.com/bH03l423Sa

— Qikiqtani Inuit (@Qikiqtani_Inuit) November 8, 2018

And from Iqaluit resident Aaron Watson came a suggestion that there are places to assist those most affected by the loss of the Northmart, which, he said, “is the biggest supplier of our food bank.” Those include the Nunavut food bank, at nunavutfoodbank@gmail.com, and the soup kitchen, at qajuqturvik@gmail.com.

But beyond food, for some the loss of the Northmart means that obtaining medication has suddenly become complicated. That’s because the Northmart pharmacy supplied, among other medications, tuberculosis treatment drugs in Iqaluit and throughout the Baffin region.

Tim Smith, director of pharmacy operations for the North West Co.,, said they are working closely with other health care providers, such as ValuPharm Drugs, the Qikiqtani General Hospital and health centres elsewhere in the Baffin region “to ensure patient care is maintained.”

“We offer our support in any way possible to all other providers,” Smith told Nunatsiaq News. “The health of Iqalummiut and other Nunavummiut is our sole concern.”

To that end, Smith said that the company is maintaining contact with health centres, public health, the Government of Nunavut, and Iqaluit’s mayor and council, among others.

He said Iqaluit residents requiring prescription services can contact the hospital’s rapid-access clinic or ValuPharm Drugs, while up-island residents can contact their local health centres, he said.

Also taking part in the effort to help out is Makivik Corp., Nunavik’s birthright Inuit organization, which also owns First Air and Air Inuit.

“It’s unbelievable that this has happened in the capital city of Nunavut which not only has the largest population in the territory but is also the service centre for the eastern Arctic,“ Makivik president Charlie Watt said in a Nov. 9 news release.

“We want the leaders of Nunavut to know we are here to help in anyway we can. You only need to get a hold of us at Makivik, and we are ready to provide support until Iqaluit has its store back again.”

Nunavut’s other major airline, Canadian North, was also assessing its capacity to bring in cargo, as well as a freezer, refrigerator and dry storage capacity to be able to assist with any additional demand, according to Brian Tattuinee, who works at the airline.

Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq told the territory’s legislature on Thursday afternoon that the federal minister of intergovernmental and northern affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, had already reached out to his office to offer support.

Iqaluit city council said it was grateful for the “overwhelming” support received from the Government of Nunavut, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, retailers, other community organizations and residents.

Kyle Sheppard, the city’s acting mayor, said on Friday afternoon that “this event, though difficult, demonstrated how effective our community can be at coming together and supporting each other in a time of need. Everyone went out of their way to offer assistance. For that, we are truly thankful.”

Other expressions of support and concern came from government officials, concerned Canadians and even a Canadian icon, Ed the Sock, a sock puppet best known for his appearances hosting programming on MuchMusic and his own talk show, Ed’s Night Party.

I spent some time in #Iqaluit & have friends there—I know how central the Northmart store is to that small town and I hope they find a way to get everyone groceries to buy while the place is fixed.

— Ed the Sock (@EdtheSock) November 8, 2018