Iqaluit Transit bus survives fire, aims for March launch

Nunavut Marketing office lost in Noble House blaze; company working with city to start bus service

Iqaluit Transit’s bus is parked next to a Nunavut Marketing delivery van in a fenced-off lot where Noble House once stood. The building at 1088 Mivvik St., which was home to 36 families and several businesses including Nunavut Marketing, was destroyed Jan. 8 by fire. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)

By Jeff Pelletier - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An Iqaluit company aims to launch a local bus service by March, despite recently losing its office in a fire.

Nunavut Marketing, a media production company and delivery service, was one of several commercial tenants impacted by the fire that destroyed Noble House at 1088 Mivvik St. in Iqaluit the evening of Jan. 8.

The company lost its warehouse as well as some video production equipment, said owner Jacinto Marques.

But staff are all safe and the company’s yet-to-be-launched passenger bus and delivery vehicles are still rolling.

“Nobody got hurt in that building, so I’m pretty grateful for that,” Marques said.

“We’re still operating not at, of course, 100 per cent. But we’re still operating at 25 per cent to 40 per cent.”

The Iqaluit Transit bus was one of the few things still intact in the aftermath of the fire, parked in the Noble House lot. Although Marques is currently out of town, he said his staff told him it is working well.

Iqaluit has been without a city bus system for about 20 years, since Iqaluit Public Transit operation was suspended in 2004 due to low ridership.

Marques announced his Iqaluit Transit venture last spring with hopes to begin operating its route from the airport to Apex by summer 2024.

By September last year, he was still waiting for the city’s approval.

However, things have taken a turn for the positive in recent weeks for Marques regarding his bus plan.

He said he has had productive meetings with the city’s administration and municipal enforcement to make sure the service is in compliance with municipal bylaws.

“I think we’re pretty much on the same page now, so I’m pretty optimistic about it that things are going to go forward,” he said.

Last summer, City of Iqaluit spokesperson Geoff Byrne said in an email that a “bylaw review” was underway regarding Iqaluit Transit’s proposal, and that it would be a topic council would consider in the fall.

“There’s no update on the Iqaluit Transit file at this time,” Byrne said in a Jan. 14 email.

Marques said he’ll be ready to launch the service when he gets the green light, adding he expects to meet and take questions from city council before that happens.

Currently, Marques said he’s most concerned about the residential tenants of Noble House who were displaced by the fire. He’s still hoping to help them in some way.

“People are calling me and giving me sympathy. We really appreciate it, but I think the main, more important thing is people were left homeless,” he said.

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(3) Comments:

  1. Posted by Lifelong Nunavut Resident on

    Let’s study it, review it and make a decision in a year or 2. The need for more services is huge right across the territory, councils need to have a clear vision for their communities, “what do we want our community to be in 10 years”? and then lay out the plan to encourage investment. Everyone is screaming for better services in every Nunavut community. You need to give solid reasons why one should invest in your community. I know this is a foreign concept but for Nunavut to truly thrive, you need small business to become the backbone of every community.

    Why are small businesses important to the Canadian economy?

    Independent businesses provide their local economies with new jobs products, revenue, services and more. 2. Charitable and innovative contributions – Small businesses not only contribute economic benefits to their community but also charitable and innovative ones as well.

    How many jobs are created by small businesses in Canada?
    Job creation

    Small businesses employ 10.3 million people in Canada—63.8% of the Canadian workforce. They also create up to 150,000 jobs yearly, depending on whether the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) trends upwards.

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    • Posted by Putting this out there on

      But in Nunavut it is very hard to have a small business. Unless it is so small that the owner is the only worker. there is NO way a small business can compete with GN or Inuit Orgs pay rates. Also there are so many short term “programs” (sewing, qamutik building, canning, igloo building… etc) that also pay such large amounts to those that participate that people quit(or just stop going for weeks at a time) paying jobs for these programs. Which that really impacts small businesses. because it is not viewed well to fire someone that just stops working because they join a program for a while.

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