Dump, pipes and a new vision statement: Iqaluit charts city's future

About 50 different priorities — from closing down the dump to developing a vision statement for the City of Iqaluit — were discussed over the weekend by city councillors and municipal staff in a strategic planning session.

Everything from improving roads to creating an Inuit employment strategy was considered over the two-day session, the first time the administration sat down together to formally discuss the future of the city since being elected last fall.

"The priorities are based on what this community needs, so closing the dump down, dealing with the broken pipes, but some of it is also improving communications with our community," said Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern following Tuesday night's council meeting. 

"Mayor and council and of course our staff would love to be able to work on everything immediately.

"The practicality is that we can't, either because we only have so much internal resources or that we need the support of other partners and stakeholders and government to assist us," she said.

"We might not realize what we just did but, the full extent of our work will be there to see in the years to come," said Coun. Kuthula Matshazi during Tuesday's council meeting.

Big plans, big debt

Though the city is mired in a $9.4 million debt, thanks in large part to the dump fire in 2014, money was not discussed in the weekend session.

"Otherwise you literally can find yourself saying, 'Oh we can't afford to do that, we can't do that,'" Refern said.

The meetings were missing two councillors and the city's human resources director. Once they have an opportunity to provide input, the mayor said it will be up to city staff to figure out where the money will come from to pay for it all, which could include partnerships or lobbying other levels of government.

Redfern said the strategic plan should be ready by the fall, "definitely before Christmas." 

She then plans to share it online.