Kuujjuaq mayor seeks tips from Iqaluit

KUUJJUAQ – Next month, the mayors of Kuujjuaq and Iqaluit will compare notes on the challenges of managing a growing Arctic community.
That’s because Larry Watt, the mayor of Kuujjuaq, is planning a visit to Iqaluit, where he will attend a city council meeting and see the city for himself.

This will be the first time, since a short visit nearly 10 years ago, that Watt has been to Iqaluit.

The invitation to visit Iqaluit came out of an e-mail Watt sent to mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik after her acclamation to the city’s top position was announced.

Although Iqaluit is about three times larger than Kuujjuaq, Watt said he is eager to see how Iqaluit, which had the same population as Kuujjuaq not that long ago, deals with its growing pains.

With 2,000 residents, Kuujjuaq is a fast-growing community, with a growth rate higher than that of Iqaluit before 1999.

Like Iqaluit, Kuujjuaq is destined to become the administrative and transportation hub for the region. This role will only increase as Nunavik moves towards more self-governance.

But, unlike Iqaluit, Kuujjuaq has more money to build infrastructure and maintain services.

Access to money is the major difference between Iqaluit and Kuujjuaq.

This means that, for the moment, even with an accumulated deficit of about $5 million, Kuujjuaq’s financial picture is looking pretty good, Watt said.

Watt negotiated a $3.7 million, long-term loan from Quebec’s department of municipal affairs to cover part of a deficit from the construction and operation of the Kaittitavik centre. The centre, which was built for the 2002 Inuit Circumpolar Conference assembly in Kuujjuaq, also houses the town offices.

Watt is also finding money through cuts to operations. These resulted in a $300,000 operational surplus this year. This money will go towards paying down Kuujjuaq’s long-term debt and reduce the amount of interest on it.

After his election last November, Watt shaved money off several special municipal projects, such as the Kaittitavik’s movie theatre, which now operates only four times a week instead of seven.

Watt is also trying to collect $1 million in unpaid municipal taxes owed by private homeowners, organizations and businesses. He said it’s clear from the Kativik Act that as mayor he must make sure municipal taxes are collected and spent.

“We’re going to send a stern letter from the council, and this may encourage them to make an arrangement with the municipality,” Watt said. “If they don’t, we’re open to taking some legal steps.”

Kuujjuaq can also look forward to a more equitable division of Quebec’s regional municipal subsidy next year. With 20 per cent of the region’s population, Kuujjuaq has only been receiving 2.6 per cent of the regional subsidy.

While there still isn’t enough money to do everything Kuujjuaq wants, with Quebec infrastructure grants and other subsidies, Kuujjuaq has been able to been able to build a new swimming pool, scheduled to open next summer, and a new sewage lagoon, which should be in use this month.

Kuujjuaq can also tap into money from the multi-million dollar Sanarrutik funds, which flow every year from Quebec through Makivik Corp. and the Kativik Regional Government.

This deal, signed in April 2002, ensures, among other benefits, that $360 million worth of tax-free, indexed transfers are delivered to Nunavik over the next 25 years in exchange for possible hydro-electric power projects in the region.

Last year’s cheque was about $8.5 million. Over the next 22 years, the value of the annual cheque will nearly double, to $15 million a year.

Using money from Sanarrutik economic and social development funds, Watt wants to hire another watchman for the town. He also hopes to hire two community street workers, with help from money earmarked for crime prevention every year by an amendment to the Sanarrutik deal.

This amendment, signed earlier this year, relieved Quebec of its obligation under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement to build a provincial jail in Nunavik.

In exchange, it offers Nunavik money: more than $300 million over the next 22 years. The deal says Quebec will pay Makivik and the KRG $10 million this year and annually until 2030. This annual amount will be indexed and tax-free.