QIA floats ideas about how to manage Iqaluit beach

Survey asks how to best address rundown shacks and boats

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association is seeking input on how it should manage the beach in Iqaluit, through a survey open until the end of June. (Photo courtesy of Madeleine Redfern)

By Mélanie Ritchot

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association is proposing six options for managing the Inuit-owned land along Iqaluit’s waterfront and is seeking input from elders, hunters and shack owners to decide on next steps.

Its proposals are outlined in a questionnaire on the association’s website that also asks Iqaluit Inuit for their input. The association announced the questionnaire in a news release Tuesday.

One of the proposals is to clear away all the unowned shacks, and to continue clearing shacks and boats not used for harvesting at least twice per year.

Another proposal is for QIA to design, build, install and maintain shacks to replace existing structures.

The beach has long been a topic of contention in Iqaluit, with run-down shacks and boats left on the beach and complaints about drunken disorderliness.

There have also been incidents of shack fires on the beach, with one of them resulting in a death last year.

People without homes have used shacks and boats on the beach as shelter. This came to light when a family who was living in a shack had nowhere to go after it burnt down.

These issues were discussed by city councillors last year, but the City of Iqaluit can’t enforce changes, since it’s QIA that manages the land.

The association’s other proposals for managing the area include cleaning the beach and removing unsafe or unowned shacks and equipment, working with existing shack owners to move or build new ones, or creating construction and design guidelines for shack replacements on specific sites.

They could also choose to continue to monitor the area and do occasional maintenance. Beneficiaries would continue to be expected to ask QIA before placing a shack or boat on the beach.

Those who complete the survey will be entered into a draw to win either a $500 gift card to the Arctic Survival Store, a $300 gift card to Miqsuqta or a barrel of home heating fuel from Uqsuq Corp., according to a news release.

QIA will help people complete the questionnaire over the phone at 867-975-8400, or it can be done online.

The survey will be open until June 30.

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(25) Comments:

  1. Posted by Pauly D on

    Maybe ask Baffinland to help move unwanted material’s??

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    • Posted by Northern Guy on

      After QIA threw Baffinland under the bus, I don’t think they will helping QIA with anything.

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      • Posted by Janice on

        Are you people not realizing that was a sarcastic comment (joke)?

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    • Posted by Haha on

      Good one

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    • Posted by Really? on

      Sounds like a great idea! Baffinland will be invited to try and solve another problem they didn’t cause; they can build housing for the people living in the shacks, remove the shacks, build a food bank and give people clothing, offer them jobs, build daycare centres for their kids, give their kids laptops when they graduate high school, offer them scholarships and training and then QIA and NTI can stab Baffinland in the back again because they feel threatened by some millionaire from Mittimatalik and his made up non-profit while his sons block Mary River airstrip, eating Baffinland’s food and burning Baffinland’s pallets. Can’t wait to try this again!

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  2. Posted by tent city baby on

    “People without homes have used shacks and boats on the beach as shelter. This came to light when a family who was living in a shack had nowhere to go after it burnt down.”

    Nope. Everyone in Iqaluit, including QIA all know people use shacks and boats on the beach as both shelter and places to party, and everyone has been aware of this the entire time. It’s never been a secret.

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  3. Posted by Janice on

    I would never ask permission to build a shack on my own land. Or store my boat and stuff. If its busted, and no one wants it, yeah clean it up. But the few trash and a lazy doesnt give qia a right to grant me permission.

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    • Posted by Curious on

      Doesn’t “Nunavut”mean our land?
      Not “my own land” ?

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      • Posted by Bob on

        The land is owned by Inuit together. So for you to say you don’t need permission from anyone to build is just selfish. What gives you the right over other Inuit? Needs to be decided together or by an organized group. Owning something by yourself is different than owning it collectively.

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        • Posted by Janice on

          You do realize you are pocking a nonsense argument on a written technicality? Do you really think I own Nunavut? Shiesh
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          Nothing better to argue about?

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          • Posted by David on

            You’re not getting a lot of love here Janice, but I am with you. Sometimes you need rules, sometimes you don’t and sometimes people just like telling others what to do. Government is far too big in Nunavut and government making rules “for” citizens is rarely a good thing. Keep them in check, the fewer rules the better.

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  4. Posted by Truestory on

    Q.I.A. should mind it’s own business. It might be Inuit land, but, the city is responsible as it is in the city. Not outside.

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    • Posted by Not city on

      The land is within the municipal boundary but still owned by Inuit so it is Inuit responsibility. Fee simple titled lands are in the same bracket and are responsible for care and administrative duties related to that land.

      • Posted by Truestory on

        Doesn’t a city have “city limits”? Or would that be would be Q.I.A.’s limits?

  5. Posted by Iqalumiuta on

    Learn how to manage housing & provide housing for all of Nunavutmut

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  6. Posted by Concerned on

    This place has been calling itself as a city for a long time. Want to be a city, then get rid of the eyesores, party places, junk yards. Make it a respectable place for a nice walk on the beach. Make it a family environment, not a party and drug habitat.

    The shack owners can be like everywhere else. Store them beside their homes.

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    • Posted by Paul Murphy on

      Not a city???? Then it MUST be a hamlet!! LOL

      Optics Kenny Optics

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  7. Posted by Show me the royalties on

    Maybe QIA should finally invest some of the royalties it gets from mining into social housing developments to start solving these problems. No family wants to live in these conditions, especially at -40.

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    • Posted by Truestory on

      I don’t think that will happen. The powers that be, likes their bonuses, and they won’t easily give that up.

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  8. Posted by Honestly on

    This underlies a larger issue – some (all?) of the shacks/sheds were/are used by homeless people. Maybe the QIA could look to using some of that money that they have received from Baffinland to actually help support the homeless by providing affordable housing to these people. What a concept.

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  9. Posted by Josywales on

    Are these properties within the 100′ strip of beach land that GN, under CGS own per NLCA unless sold or Alaigned?

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    • Posted by Nope on

      Nope. QIA has a section of land that is not GN. GN cleared most of their shacks for the small craft harbour.

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  10. Posted by Qikiqtaalumiu on

    create a sustainable beach yard with cabins for locals and start a reduce reuse recycle system we allcan use to.the amount of garbage weALL create can also be in use for safety and land use such as the land fill creating a road for compost we also can support better garbage run and have assistance from all ships coming in and send out the reusable materils.win win situation. North have great advatage of being good leader for climate but wanting is a different story.

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  11. Posted by uvanga on

    NTI, didn’t you get a load of money a year and a half ago from the mines? How about digging into your organizations pocket and put up more houses.

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    • Posted by really? on

      to build more houses that will end up being trashed? people given things will break something and just stick their hand out and say can i have another and break that, people who earn things or buy it with their own money will have more respect for it and take better care of things, not EVERYHTING is the gov’t fault, people in general need to take ownership too not pass the blame on the gov’t

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