Nunavut comedy troupe roasts ex-councillor in pool fundraiser

Iqaluit-Tasiluk MLA George Hickes, left, dressed up as Kenny Bell, right, at the Bell comedy roast at Iqaluit’s Francophone Centre Oct. 31. Bell had famously taped his mouth shut this summer after feeling he was being censored by the mayor and his council colleagues. (PHOTO BY VINCENT DESROSIERS)

Kenny Bell, Nunavut’s chief liquor inspector and former city councillor, licks his fingers after getting a pie in the face Oct. 31 at a roast in his honour at the Iqaluit Francophone Centre. (PHOTO BY VINCENT DESROSIERS)

Mahaha Comedy member Franco Buscemi, right, on stage with the man of the hour Oct. 31, former city councillor Kenny Bell. (PHOTO BY VINCENT DESROSIERS)

You could say a lot of things about Kenny Bell, former Iqaluit city councillor: that he was rude, attention-seeking or contrary.

And some Nunatsiaq News commenters said just that whenever he figured prominently in a story about, say, Iqaluit’s new aquatic centre, which Bell opposed on the grounds that it was too expensive.

But you can’t say Bell’s not a good sport.

On Halloween night, in Iqaluit, Bell sat for a few hours on a “throne,” onstage at the Francophone Centre, as the butt of most jokes during Mahaha Comedy’s first celebrity roast.

“For a roast to work, you need someone who not only can take a joke but dish it out, so, that made Kenny ideal for this,” said Franco Buscemi, a member of Mahaha and one of the event’s organizers. “I know he’s got a really thick skin.”

A roast is like a cheeky farewell or a good-natured tease-fest for a prominent person, held to recognize someone’s public contribution or some significant milestone in his or her life. It’s a tribute, delivered in jokes and gags.

Bell, reached after the event on Nov. 2, said he agreed right away when Mahaha organizer and long-time friend Franco Buscemi suggested a night of laughs at Bell’s expense.

“When they asked me, I said ‘absolutely, let’s do it.’ No hesitation,” Bell said.

“It was unbelievable. It was actually way better than I thought it would be. The jokes were good — a little bit disturbing, but good,” he said, laughing.

Just to make things interesting, the event was billed as a fundraiser for REACH, the organization that’s raising money for Iqaluit’s new aquatic centre.

The $30-million pool is currently under construction next to city hall with a completion date of December 2016. And it was the bane of Bell’s existence when he was a councillor.

Bell said he thought the REACH fundraiser idea was funny and he supported it. He’s not against the city having a pool, he said. He’s a father of three boys who will all love swimming there.

But Bell has always maintained that the project’s design and scope was way too expensive and it was his job as a councillor to vote against it rather than commit the municipality to a huge debt.

“Councillors are not allowed to bankrupt the city,” he said. “I had to vote no.”

For the past few years, that pool has been a polarizing issue in town, Buscemi said.

The roast was an ideal opportunity to set aside differences, especially about the pool, and come together for a few laughs, he said.

“To me that part really important, coming together as a community. We’re too small to hold grudges,” Buscemi said.

“It’s great to have different views. It’s very constructive for the development and advancement of issues. But sometimes it’s nice to take a break, put all that aside and laugh together.”

Buscemi said Mahaha raised about $500 from the sold-out event to give to REACH.

Roast master and auctioneer Victor Tootoo managed to raise an extra $340 from a pie auction. One table of patrons “pooled” their money to ensure they had the highest bid.

Amy Elgersma, Iqaluit’s recreation director and co-chair of REACH, and colleague Mélodie Simard, the city’s planning and lands director, were both at that winning table and claimed the honour of smooshing the whipped-cream laden pasty into Bell’s face.

The gags started even before the show got underway, Bell said. Organizers had made a video which was broadcast as people were arriving.

The video, set to music, featured a notorious clip from a June 9 council meeting, at the height of Bell’s frustration with his council colleagues, where he said he’d rather “dig my eyes out with my bare fingers than come to this room.”

Bell said he really appreciated the opportunity to gather with friends and colleagues and have a good time.

“Laughter helps people get over things,” Bell said. “If you can sit there and laugh, especially laugh at people making fun of you, it shows everyone that we’re all different, we all have our qualms, but we can all laugh off that stuff and move forward.”

So what’s next for Mahaha Comedy?

Buscemi said he wants to stage an all-Inuktitut comedy show one day, but before that happens, he said he needs to grow the roster of local Inuit talent.

He’s hoping to move that along by applying for grants to bring professional comics north to run local workshops on comedy and storytelling — a gift that many Inuit already have because of the oral culture tradition.