All-candidates forum closed to public

The sole gathering of all candidates this week in the race to be mayor of Iqaluit was closed to the public.

The event, which took place this past Wednesday, was organized by the Iqaluit Chamber of Commerce.

Steve Cook, the director of the Iqaluit Chamber of Commerce, said the meeting was never billed as an open forum. Rather, he said it was a regular meeting of the chamber for members only. The candidates were invited as guest speakers.

After a council meeting the night before the forum, some of the candidates complained that the chamber was making a mistake by shutting out the public.

One candidate called the decision to bar non-members from the meeting “a wasted opportunity to get issues out to the public.”