‘This has to stop:’ Iqaluit food centre beefs up security after third break-in

Executive director frustrated over the string of incidents; other agencies also hit recently

Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre co-executive directors Joseph Murdoch-Flowers and Francine Doucet say they are disappointed and upset after three recent overnight break-ins at the facility. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)

By Arty Sarkisian

Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre in Iqaluit has been robbed. Again.

This is the third break-in since July at the centre’s building, which is located near St. Jude’s Anglican Cathedral.

“Enough is enough,” said Joseph Murdoch-Flowers, the centre’s co-executive director. “This is the soup kitchen. This is not an offence necessarily only against us, it is an offence against the community.”

All of the break-ins happened after hours, on July 21, Aug. 14 and Oct. 19.

In the most recent incident, someone got access to what will soon be a store space for the centre and stole an empty cash register, Murdoch-Flowers said.

Nunavut RCMP didn’t respond to an email from Nunatsiaq News on the matter.

The centre ordered a new register that cost a few hundred dollars on Oct. 25, but the store’s opening will be delayed while staff waits for delivery.

Caribou, fish, chicken, bread and hamburger patties were stolen during the two previous incidents.

Murdoch-Flowers said he doesn’t understand why anyone would steal from a food centre.

“It’s obviously not so that they can access food, because if they need to access food they can just walk in the door on any day of the week for lunch and we will greet them happily and feed them,” he said.

Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre “is a hub of food culture in Iqaluit,” according to its website. It prepares between 300 and 500 free meals daily Monday to Friday.

Murdoch-Flowers said the financial hit is not the biggest issue, it’s the time his team has to “waste” on other activities such as changing locks and increasing security. Time that could have been spent chopping vegetables and making stew.

“With all due respect, this is a waste of time,” he said of having to do an interview with Nunatsiaq News instead of working on daily chores at the centre.

The food centre isn’t the only Iqaluit organization dealing with recent break-ins: First Steps Daycare was robbed four times in nine days earlier this month, and Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum had to upgrade its locks after a break-in and theft that was followed by another break-in attempt.

“It’s sickening,” Murdoch-Flowers said. “This has to stop.”

 

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(20) Comments:

  1. Posted by Danny Diddler on

    The social dysfunction in Iqaluit just defies belief some days.

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    • Posted by Oh ima Johnny on

      Thats because you don’t the real of Iqaluit and Nunavut! Blind to the poverty systematic racism, lack of opportunity, poor education system! People are living in desperation! Before you try to dismiss this comment try to live off $800 a month

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      • Posted by Nobody Lives Off $800 on

        You’re living off way more than $800 per month. That’s just the amount you get in cash for not working. Who do you think pays for the shelter, heat, municipal services, electricity, property tax, insurance, and maintenance of public housing? Not the tenant.

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        • Posted by Eskimos Fan on

          Not many tenants in Nunavut public housing pay rent or power bills.
          Done heard of tenants owing 12 grand to over 50 grand in unpaid rent in years(!!!) and local housing boards do nothing about it.
          “They” really do get free housing.

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      • Posted by What? on

        800 a month? Is that was welfare people think. Free unit at market rate $3,000 to $5,500 depending on size, free heat, in some cases JP money, child tax credits, handouts from RIA’s and NTI, the list goes on and on.

        Imagine for a second the people that work for all of those things, dont get the freebies, how do you think they feel as they not only have to pay for all those things themselves but 20-35% of their pay goes to taxes which a portion of that goes to covering those on welfare and living in social housing units.

        800 a month… I wish that’s all my tax money had to cover.

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  2. Posted by Mit on

    Last month over 5% of canadians used a food bank. This is because of liberal and ndp party. Sad that people have to break in to food bank just to survive.

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    • Posted by Sad on

      Sad that because of liberal and ndp parties, ‘people’ have to break in to a food bank just to survive instead of just walking to the food bank and having a free hot meal and survive.

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      • Posted by Oh ima on

        It doesn’t matter what political party is in govenment! Poverty and break has always existed! The problem is capitalism has created inequity ! Conservatives if they get in will cut social programs that help marginalized people that are left out of economic oppotunities

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        • Posted by Adapted prokaryote on

          Capitalism is a system that has allowed for the creation of tremendous wealth. If you don’t participate in capitalism you will not enjoy that wealth. I that what you mean by “inequity”? You want the benefits, but don’t want to play the game? For most of human history material poverty was the norm. If you prefer that system you may still chose it.

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          • Posted by Daddy Warbucks on

            What Johnny Oh Ima is really pointing to here is the seething jealousy he and many others feel given their relative underachievement by comparison to the most successful in a capitalist society.

            This is a fact of our economic system that we all must grapple with and accept to some measure or another.

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    • Posted by Too Many at the Trough on

      *People Use Food Banks*
      Government – “Look! People are using food banks. But the food they’re getting is not very tasty. We need to provide more funding to the food banks for better options. Let’s raise taxes.”
      *More People Use Food Banks*
      Government – “Wow! We’re doing such a great job! More people are coming to eat the food. But there’s more now, so we need to give more funding. Let’ raise taxes even more.”
      *Even More People Use Food Banks*
      Government – “… What the heck is going on here?”

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      • Posted by Succotash on

        While I believe the process you describe does apply to many different entities, programs and trends in Canada, is it actually true in the case of the food centre or food banks?

        Do they really receive much by way of public funds?

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        • Posted by Google Is Your Friend on

          Qajuqturvik’s 2022-23 Annual Report shows revenues of $2.0 million, with about 75% of that coming from Governments.

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          • Posted by Too Many at the Trough on

            $2 million, divided by (average) 400 meals a day, divided by 5 days a week, divided by 52 weeks a year, annnnnd… it costs $19.23 to feed a person a meal.

            Sure wish I had that budget at my house. I’d be able to spend $1620 per week on groceries.

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    • Posted by Unclench Then Extract on

      Please explain how the Liberals/NDP drove worldwide inflation. While you’re at it, explain why grocery store profits are at record highs even after inflation has returned to 1.6%… I mean, you must have some sort of proof to support your claims, right?

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      • Posted by legaleagle on

        Still defending the Liberal/NDP’s. We don’t need to prove anything. You need to prove otherwise. We don’t assume the subservient role that Emperor Trudeau tells you to play. Time to get off your mom’s couch. So glad I bought 2 houses while conservatives were in office. But more importantly, I’m really glad that I paid them off before 2015 because I’m not getting scammed by interest rates that you seem to love and chalk up as a “global phenomenon”. OH OH it’s snowing. Time to pay more taxes

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  3. Posted by Inuk on

    If you want to stop them then talk to government how they are working and tell them stop the corrupting the system to inuit. You guys have the lisence to get information and can contact them by phone. And now working so hard now to make them like they are working.

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  4. Posted by Hard Drugs on

    Blame the ugly hard drugs that have been infesting the streets of Iqaluit like crack and cocaine and who knows what other junk

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  5. Posted by Hunter on

    break ins and thefts, smash and grabs are just going to get worse as hard drugs take hold of the community.

    More and more people are looking for quick cash to sustain their additions.

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