New bed and breakfast opens

Arviat - A new bed and breakfast will open in late July-early August on the shores of Hudson Bay.

The Katimavik Beach House will feature five suites with a common kitchen and living room in an approximately 3,000 square-foot building.

Owner Ryan St. John said it's busy and booked up at his Arviat location, the Katimavik Suites and Conference Centre, which opened about four years ago with eight suites and an 1,000 square feet conference room.

"There is a need for it so we decided to expand on what we're doing," he said.

Consumer Price Index decreases

Iqaluit - The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Iqaluit decreased 1.5 per cent between April 2009 and April 2010, newly released data from Statistics Canada show.

Iqaluit is the only city among the other jurisdictions monitored by the federal agency to see a decline. Canada's CPI increase 1.8 per cent during the same time period.

But when compared to March, the index for the city increased one per cent in April.

Inuvik Petroleum Show registration lagging

Inuvik - The June 23 and 24 Inuvik Petroleum show is expected to attract some 400 people, about 200 fewer people than last year, said Larry Peckford, community economic development manager for the Town of Inuvik.

The two-day conference and trade show has sold 95 of its 100 exhibitor booths, he added. But Peckford said he is optimistic the show will be a success.

"It's our tenth anniversary, that's an important milestone and we've got some great keynote speakers. We have some interesting sessions that we think will interest people," he said. "I mean certainly the Mackenzie Gas Project is of key importance to the development of this region but of course, we have interest in the offshore of the Beaufort Sea, so we'll be talking about that."

Other items to be discussed include international perspectives on Arctic development. Former politician Preston Manning, for instance, is also expected to provide a keynote address.

Qikiqtarjuaq to get new airport

Qikiqtarjuaq/Broughton Island - Qikiqtarjuaq is getting a new airport.

The community will build a new single-storey, 240-square-meter airport which will improve passenger and cargo movement, said Shawn Maley, director of Nunavut airports.

The building will be made of wood frame and will have a metal clad roof.

Maley said construction material will arrive by sealift late this summer. The airport is set to be built by December 2011.

"This is slightly bigger than our normal-sized airports (in other communities) and this one is a little bit different in that it's going to include office space for the maintainer as well as future carriers," he said.

Maley said the old building will be demolished if the community does not want to use it.

Premier speaks on economic potential

NWT - NWT Premier Floyd Roland spoke about the economic potential of the Mackenzie Gas Project at the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce last week. He said the project would mean for the North what the railroad has meant for the West.

"Not only would it be a bold and durable signal of our Northern sovereignty, it would add to the economic fabric of the whole country and cement Canada's place as an energy superpower," he said during his speech.

Roland said the project would benefit the whole county, creating jobs and injecting billions into this country's economy.

"The potential returns on this initiative far exceed the cost of construction, and yet we are still missing a national commitment to proceed," he said.

In his speech, he also mentioned the territory is monitoring the situation in the Gulf of Mexico, regarding the oil spill and the clean-up efforts.

Helicopter company gets new contract

Lli Goline/Norman Wells - Great Slave Helicopters (GSH) has obtained a two-year contract with Enbridge Pipelines NW Inc. to fly regular monitoring flights, using two helicopters based in Fort Simpson and Norman Wells.

GSH, a subsidiary of Discovery Air Inc., will fly line patrols over the entire 868 km of Enbridge's crude oil pipeline running between Norman Wells, NWT, and Zama, Alta.

"It's new business," said John Curran, marketing manager for Discovery Air Northern Services.

GSH will also complete flights to inspect possible pipeline irregularities. The contract is effective July 1 and includes an option for a two-year extension.