Nunavut capital, Inuit birthright corporation explore deal for new landfill

Iqaluit’s garbage dump has caused the city much grief over the years including when it caught fire, above, last June. (FILE PHOTO)

The City of Iqaluit says it will explore the creation of a new landfill site and the cleanup and reclamation of the current site with the Qikiqtaaluk Corp., following a newly signed deal between the two organizations.

The memorandum of understanding, or MOU, proposes a potential partnership between the two entities to explore the idea of closing and rehabilitating the current landfill site, creating a new landfill and potentially constructing a new solid waste management facility, an April 3 news release said.

“Partnering with Qikiqtaaluk Corp. and its subsidiary company Qikiqtaaluk Environmental Inc. could allow the city to offer a superior level of waste management services to residents,” Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern said in the release.

The Qikiqtaaluk Corp. is the regional Inuit birthright corporation for Qikiqtani beneficiaries of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Qikiqtaaluk Environmental Inc. is a partnership between QC and Sanexen Environmental Services Inc. of Brossard, Que.

The city will review, over the coming weeks, its current plan to replace Iqaluit’s landfill. If the two organizations can find common ground, a contract could be awarded following that review process, the release said.

“Our company will be exploring ways to position Iqaluit as a leader in northern waste management practices,” said QC President, Harry Flaherty.

“Most importantly, QC will ensure that locally trained staff will execute most of the activities.”

It’s unclear whether the city specifically sought out QC. for this work or if the development corporation won a city request for proposals process. No one from the city was immediately available to answer questions late on April 3.

The agreement could form the next step toward implementing a solid waste management plan that the city approved in early 2014.

At the time, councillors included a provision in the plan for a garbage incinerator to be located on site.

Estimates provided by the city three years ago pegged the cost of the new landfill with a $13.98 million set-up price on a parcel of land about 8.5 kilometres northwest of the city’s centre.

The city’s latest news releases said the final cost would not be known until the review is completed.

The city’s current landfill is reaching the end of its expected life span, and at one point included an adjacent “temporary” landfill for bulk metal and wood.

The city struck a deal with Kudlik Construction Ltd. to ship most of the temporary landfill’s contents south during the 2016 sealift season, but not before a fire engulfed the site for nearly two days last June.

And in 2014, the city’s main landfill site burned for six months straight, earning the name “dumpcano” and costing the city million of dollars to extinguish.