Council committee says yes to the Sally Ann

Iqaluit City Council’s engineering and planning committee said yes this past Tuesday to the Salvation Army’s proposal to move Iqaluit’s shelter for homeless people from building 156 in south Iqaluit to building 778 in Lower Base, but not before a lengthy debate, and a tie-breaking vote from Coun. Nancy Gillis, the committee’s chair.

Some residents of the Lower Base neighbourhood have complained that the proposed new location would threaten their security, create disturbances, and lower the resale value of their property.

“I don’t want to see people in my neighbourhood causing noise and disruption. I don’t want to see the RCMP there 24 hours a day,” said Denise Hutchings, who lives nearby.

But Garry Jones of the Salvation Army said the Iqaluit RCMP detachment told him that at the homeless shelter’s current location, the police have only been called three times in the past eight years.

Coun. Simanuk Kilabuk, who lives near the current shelter, said the new building is “urgently needed” before winter this year because of the cramped, dilapidated building that’s now being used.

“I have lived near the shelter and I have never heard of any complaints from neighbours who live beside the shelter,” Kilabuk said.

Coun. Glenn Williams, who also supports the proposal, said he’s “confident” that the Salvation Army, who have run the homeless shelter since March 31, would provide good management of the new facility.

But he pointed out that building 778 is a retro-fitted building with a limited lifespan, and that the city should identify a site within the general plan for a permanent homeless shelter.

Coun. Brad Hall voted against the proposal, saying the majority of Lower Base residents he’s talked to are opposed to it. Coun. Claude Martel also voted against the proposal, saying that homeless people in Iqaluit already have a “roof over their head,” and that he understands the fears of people in the area, especially people with children.

After a vote on the proposal produced a 2-2 tie, Coun. Nancy Gillis, the chair, voted in favour of the motion.

“They have the right to live as human beings,” Gillis said.

The committee’s recommendation will now go to council for a final vote, which is likely to be done at the next city council meeting.