Group revisits Iqaluit co-op idea

An aggressive bid to demolish the Toonoonik Sahoonik Hotel-Restaurant in Iqaluit and replace it with a retail co-operative store still has several hurdles to clear.

The complex and costly venture requires city council-approved building permits and up to 1,000 residents willing to invest a couple hundred dollars in start-up shares. Unlike most Nunavut communities, Iqaluit does not have an existing co-op membership to draw upon.

Plans for the new store surprised many people at a public meeting on June 2. But several residents urged the seven-person steering committee to build quickly.

“I encourage you to move forward so the land won’t be purchased by someone else,” one woman said.

The commercially zoned, 1,200-square-foot beachfront lot is located between the Canadian Coast Guard building and the Discovery Lodge hotel.

Pond Inlet’s Toonoonik Sahoonik Co-op is selling the boarded-up building and three other assets in Iqaluit: a staff residence, a gas bar and a vehicle rental business.

Arctic Co-operatives Ltd., the umbrella company representing the 35 co-ops in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, has already signed an offer to purchase the Pond Inlet co-operative. ACL will lease the land from the City of Iqaluit and sublease the property to the Iqaluit Co-op once a membership base is established.

The million-dollar deal with the Pond Inlet Co-op should be complete by August, said Andy Morrison, chief executive officer of Arctic Co-operatives Ltd. Morrison declined to specify how much the deal is worth.

“It’s a confidential amount,” he said.

One meeting participant raised concerns about debt. Morrison explained that there is no debt to assume.

Another person inquired about purchasing only the hotel, not the other businesses. Morrison said it’s an all or nothing deal.

“They’re only prepared to sell one package but we’re looking at whether or not to sell [the gas bar and truck rental outfit] later. It depends on what the members want,” he said.

Organizers know not everyone in Iqaluit welcomes the prospect of retail competition.

“There’s a lot of people out there who want to put a stop us building a co-op,” said Mike Illnik, vice-president of the steering committee.

“There’s no way we can afford to lose the property at this time.”

Iqaluit already has two large grocery stores and a handful of convenience stores. However, people at the meeting said the community needs lower priced groceries, clothing and tools.

With financing and a business plan in place, the store is expected to open in the fall of 2003. Supplies are scheduled to be ordered for the last 2002 sealift or the first sealift of 2003.

The size and scope of the store will be determined largely by the number of members it attracts.

“We have to watch our dollars right from the start. We’re not going to go extravagant,” Illnik said.

“We’re going to have to spend money to make money. I’m not going to say how deep we’re going to go into the hole to get this system going but I’d say there’s going to be a fair amount of dollars put in place.”

About 150 new members and 150 members from old Iqaluit Co-op airport kiosk have already signed up.

Morrison hopes at least half of Iqaluit’s 6,000 residents will become co-op members.

“In other communities in the North most of the adult population is a member of the co-op. We certainly believe 1,000 or 1,500 members is not out of the question and possibly much more than that,” Morrison said.

Illnik and his committee will spend the summer months recruiting new members.

Morrison said the building permit applications will be filed with the city “as soon as possible.”

The capital city’s prohibitively priced and scarce property has thwarted similar attempts in the last 13 years, Morrison said.