Iqaluit elder van to ‘soft launch’ Friday

A year after an elder mobility van arrived in Iqaluit, passengers will be able to get on board starting Friday as part of a “soft launch” of the service.

The van is set to run Fridays and Mondays until the end of the month to coincide with regular programming at the Elders Qammaq.

On Saturdays and Sundays, it will be available to give free rides to elders and people with mobility issues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Arctic Training Ltd. — the company operating the van — also plans to offer a shuttle service Oct. 27, territorial election day, to help elders and other people with mobility issues go to the polls.

“We want to make sure that we’re operating a safe, reliable, and dignified transportation system,” said Paul Dainton, president of Arctic Training, at an event Saturday afternoon announcing the launch.

“This will allow elders and mobility-impaired individuals to get to medical appointments, grocery stores, visiting their friends, going to the bank, socializing.”

Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok announced last year the territorial government had purchased elder mobility vans for five Nunavut communities: Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay, Coral Harbour, Pangnirtung and Rankin Inlet.

At the time, it was announced that Arctic Training Ltd., Northern Future Skills Development and Caribou Cabs would be partnering to operate, train drivers and dispatch the vehicles.

However, that announcement did not come with money to operate the service. This caused controversy in the legislature, with Akeeagok facing repeated questioning from MLAs about the lack of rolling vans.

The upcoming soft launch of the Iqaluit van will be self-funded by the operators at a cost of $10,000, Dainton said. The other four vans across the territory are still not running.

“These vehicles were purchased last fiscal year and definitely well-intended at the time, and unfortunately the second phase of our proposal wasn’t realized, and that was securing 100 per cent funding,” Dainton said.

“Northern Future Skills, Arctic Training, and Caribou Cabs are fronting the operations, just to get the vans in motion, get people talking about this and trying to rebuild the momentum that was lost from the last year of not securing the funding that we anticipated.”

Saturday’s launch event was attended by three Iqaluit MLA candidates: David Akeeagok, George Hickes and Gwen Healey Akearok.

After the election, the goal will be to secure multi-year funding to run all five of the vehicles as a free service to passengers, Dainton said.

For now, Iqaluit residents should keep an eye out for an announcement of the route mobility van.

Residents who want to use the service can call the dispatch at 867-877-1215.