John Howard to reapply for bingo licence

Members of the John Howard Society’s Nunavut chapter still don’t know when they’ll be able to resume their weekly TV bingos in Iqaluit – but Iqaluit city council is giving them another chance to apply for a lottery licence.

For the past five years, the society has used money raised by its weekly bingos to pay for a variety of services performed for Inuit inmates in southern penitentiaries and Nunavut correctional centres, such as videotaped messages sent between prisoners and their families, country food donations, and other support.

The money also pays for activities in Iqaluit aimed at crime prevention, such as a popular judo program for children.

After the society’s last licence – which covered a two-month period – expired at the end of November, city bylaw officers turned down the society’s request for a new one.

To resolve the issue, representatives from the Nunavut John Howard group came to a city council meeting this past Tuesday to talk about the issue in an in camera session.

David Fraser, the John Howard Society of Nunavut’s office manager, said he was “impressed” with the reception that the group received from councillors.

But he also said that councillors still don’t seem to fully understand what the John Howard organization does, how it uses its money, why it needs money raised by bingos, and why they must spend money on salaried employees to run programs.

In an outcome that Fraser calls a “stalemate,” city council said they will send the society a letter clearly stating the information they need to see from them in a bingo licence application.

About three months ago, the city told the society that it wanted more financial information from the group. More recently, city officials have questioned whether the group is a “charity” under territorial legislation.

Fraser said that weekly bingos provide the society with the bulk of its revenues. Without that money, the organization will likely have to cut back on its work, he said.

“We’ve already turned down four applications for funds, one person, and three little groups in town,” he said.

At this point, Fraser said the society will re-apply for a lottery licence, but he coudn’t predict when bingos might resume.

The John Howard Society is a prisoner’s rights organization with chapters in many Commonwealth countries. The first Canadian branch started in Toronto in 1867.