Iqaluit councillor questions garage RFP

Coun. Stu Kennedy suggested, at the June 8 council meeting, that Iqaluit city staff may be favouring Northern Properties Ltd. in a recent request for proposals.

The RFP seeks someone willing to buy or replace two municipal buildings – a Butler building and the air base garage – that council may eventually decide to sell, to raise money for sidewalks and other capital projects.

He said the wording and form of the RFP may make it easy for Northern Property to swap other buildings they own for the air base garage, under a proposal they made several years ago.

Kennedy’s comments brought a quick response from staff and other councillors, who denied any collusion between city staff and any private company.

The RFP has yet to close, and the city has yet to make a decision on the status of the buildings in question. It’s not known how many companies, and which companies, will submit proposals.