Iqaluit mayor, councillor again call for increased RCMP patrols for public drinking

Sgt. Zhivka Ivanova presents summer policing reports; August was busiest month for service calls

Sgt. Zhivka Ivanova of Iqaluit RCMP presents July and August police statistics to city council at Tuesday’s meeting. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)

By Jeff Pelletier - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Iqaluit Mayor Solomon Awa and Coun. Kyle Sheppard say they want to see stepped-up enforcement of open liquor laws continue following a summer of increased patrols from RCMP.

The topic came up at Tuesday’s city council meeting, when Sgt. Zhivka Ivanova presented the RCMP’s monthly reports for July and August.

During those months, one of the tasks that kept officers busy was seizing open alcohol and patrolling the city on all-terrain vehicles to curb public drinking.

Out of 448 beers seized between January and August, 97 were confiscated in July and 88 in August — which comes out to 41 per cent of the total for those eight months.

Of the first eight months of 2024, August was the busiest for Iqaluit RCMP with 1,111 calls for service, including 421 involving alcohol.

Sheppard, who raised the issue of open alcohol in a council motion in May, said he saw progress during the summer, especially with the number of drinks seized.

However, he said, with fewer patrols more recently in areas such as the beer and wine store, problems have returned.

“There seemed to be good progress for a little while, and then it seems to kind of tailed off a little bit recently,” Sheppard said.

“We’re also seeing an increase in violence.”

He asked if the RCMP could again increase its patrols in that area.

Ivanova, who is new to Iqaluit since the summer, confirmed there have been fewer patrols in the area more recently, but that could change.

“We could continue with the patrols in those areas, in particular, the beer and wine store,” she said.

Ivanova’s written report to council states officers “spent extra time conducting proactive patrols” in August.

However, there were fewer patrols generally that month as some officers flew to other communities to “assist with a variety of priority tasks.”

“There’s definitely more activity with open consumption during the day,” Sheppard said, speaking to Nunatsiaq News after council wrapped up.

“I’m just hoping they’ll increase their patrols and get back to the way it was a couple months ago.”

Awa agreed with Sheppard’s sentiment.

He said the issue is not confined to the beer and wine store area. People have also raised concerns in council about public consumption in the Inuit lands beach area, the breakwater and business parking lots.

“It’s everywhere,” Awa said in an interview.

Following Sheppard’s motion to council in May, the mayor signed a letter calling on the Government of Nunavut to step in and assist.

Public open consumption falls under Nunavut’s liquor act. The RCMP is the body tasked with enforcing that law.

“It was good at the beginning,” Awa said.

“We’re going to have to tell them again, ‘Go back there again, please.'”

 

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(11) Comments:

  1. Posted by Northener on

    Another person got mugged for their beer yesterday, sad

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  2. Posted by John WP Murphy on

    I wonder what by-law is doing? Should they also not be participating in this patrol? I would think the RCMP members should be spending their time better, by investigating bootleggers/dealers/abusers/rapists/murderers, Not worrying about someone opening a drink in public.

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    • Posted by northerner on

      City too broke to pay by-law overtime I guess. Plus by-law is too busy pulling over people who has expired registration. While they might not be able arrest, they surely can do patrols!

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    • Posted by Johny Bravo on

      Only RCMP and Liquor Inspectors have authority to enforce the Liquor Act.

  3. Posted by Mit on

    Legalize open containers everyone is doing it anyway even southerners and bylaw officers. It’s Iqalu-lit

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  4. Posted by Nunavutmiuta on

    With most of us suffering from childhood trauma, there are so many of us homeless who have fallen subsistence abuse, only to become powerless over our addiction.
    No place to call home, stay at the shelter where alcohol is prohibited, no where to drink only outside.
    Iqaluit need more housing, fix the social issues here and only then the proper treatment for the addiction can be use properly.
    Sadly the privileged will never understand.

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    • Posted by Big Ben on

      This is the mantra of those who do nothing and resent others trying.
      Sick of those people.

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  5. Posted by No Shelter Here on

    I frequent the B and W regularly since its opening. The number of times I have seen RCMP around there could be counted on one hand. This is not rocket science. I realize that RCMP are busy in this town but for all the talk of foot or fourwheeler patrols, it never seems to last. Lets be honest here, they dont want to do those patrols, to deal with the gangs of disadvantaged substance abusers and small time weed dealers. They think it is beneath them. Get out of your trucks, walk around and build relationships in the community, including the troublemakers. This problem will not go away and needs to be addressed. Assign two cops everyday to patrol these problem areas. Park your vehicle, get out and talk.

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  6. Posted by anon on

    “Of the first eight months of 2024, August was the busiest for Iqaluit RCMP with 1,111 calls for service, including 421 involving alcohol.”

    Is that figure in the article correct? Because 37 calls a day to the RCMP in a single month seems rather high. Or were the 1,111 calls cumulative between January and August?

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  7. Posted by Johny Bravo on

    Bylaw officers throughout Nunavut have no authority to enforce the liquor act. They do however have authority to enforce the Traffic Safety Act. Don’t like getting pulled over for expired registration? Then be responsible and get it renewed. Simple solution.

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