Nunavut police seize alcohol in two communities

Here’s a look at some of the mickeys of vodka recently seized in Gjoa Haven, one of Nunavut’s dry communities. (HANDOUT RCMP PHOTO)

Members of the Nunavut RCMP seized lots of vodka in two Nunavut communities this past week.

One of them, Cape Dorset, uses an alcohol education committee to regulate liquor ordering. The other, Gjoa Haven, is dry.

In Gjoa Haven, RCMP intercepted and seized 59 12-ounce “mickey” bottles of vodka on Sept. 26.

Then, on Sept. 29, in Cape Dorset police seized six 60-ounce bottles of unspecified illegal alcohol.

Both matters are still under investigation, police said Oct. 7.

“Alcohol has profound negative effects in our communities and preventing the sale of illegal alcohol is a priority for the RCMP,” the RCMP news release said.

Police urged those with information or tips about alcohol coming into restricted communities to call their local RCMP Detachment or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Meanwhile, some people in the Hamlet of Rankin Inlet want to move towards the local sale of beer and wine: Keith Peterson, the MLA from Cambridge Bay and minister responsible for the Nunavut Liquor Commission, told Nunatsiaq News that his department received a petition signed by 35 members of that community of about 3,000 asking for a beer-wine store to open.

The petition arrived a day after Peterson spoke to Nunatsiaq News about the process involved in loosening up alcohol prohibitions.