Booze, death and the Kuujjuaq bar

Here’s a short chronology of what’s happened in Kuujjuaq since the co-operative store began to sell beer in 1979:

• 1979: The co-operative store starts selling beer.

• 1981: The first liquor permit is granted for the community’s bar.

• 1996: As a way of putting an end to a string of alcohol-related deaths, Johnny Adams, then the mayor of Kuujjuaq, closes Kuujjuaq’s Ikkaqivvik Bar for two weeks. During this period police notice a drop in violent offenses. Residents then decide in a referendum to keep the bar open, but to stop selling beer at the co-op store.

• 2000: The Kuujjuammiut Society, which owns and operates the bar, holds a referendum in which residents over 18 are asked to respond to three questions: whether the bar should be open on Saturday night, whether the bar should remain open later on Thursday and Friday nights, and whether the bar should be renovated and expanded. The vote was in favour of increased hours and renovation.

• January, 2001: Johnny Angnatuk dies of injuries sustained during a drunken family dispute at his home. In March, Thomas Suppa Angnatuk dies at his home after being stabbed in the heart following a booze-fueled dispute.

• April, 2001: A referendum allows residents to decide whether beer should be sold in Kuujjuaq’s local stores. They’re asked a simple, yes-or-no question, “Do you think beer should be sold in Kuujjuaq?” About 55 per cent said they do.

• June, 2001: the KRPF moves to control access to the Quebec liquor commission’s web site, which allows Nunavimmiut to order booze online for no extra charge.

• October, 2001: the Quebec Liquor Board decides to hold hearings in Kuujjuaq after the owners of the Ikkaqivik Bar ask for an additional liquor license.