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This is your council, Inuvik

In just a few days, we will have a new town council.
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In just a few days, we will have a new town council.

With 11 candidates vying for eight seats in a town of roughly 3,000, this is election could be a lot more competitive than expected. Especially since the previous council was acclaimed with no election at all.

At least, it will be if the people of Inuvik make it so.

Looking at Municipal and Community Affairs department numbers, in 2018 the lone election, that for the seat of mayor, won by Natasha Kulikowski with 563 votes, didn’t draw a lot of engagement from the town. Out of 2,200 eligible voters, a mere 739 bothered to cast a ballot, marking for a voter turnout of 34 per cent.

I think everyone involved in this election is hoping we do better this time around.

This upcoming council will have a great deal of important decisions to make. With fencing being installed at the landfill, public safety and bear awareness will be an issue for the town to tackle. The aging utilidor system is an ongoing concern and funds can’t be located fast enough to keep up with repairs. Repairs on the pools just seem to be continuing on in perpetuity. Plans for a new terminal, longer runway and other upgrades to the airport will bring more tourists and trades to town, requiring some adjustments as the Canadian Forces ramp up activity up here again.

Work on public engagement to further reconciliation will also be front and centre for this new council, from improving the inclusiveness of town facilities to removing colonist names from streets, buildings and monuments. Similarly, town council will be instrumental in advocating and supporting green technology projects in the area as the region moves away from diesel to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas commitments.

Preparing for the next wave of technology will also be a major focus for this council. Across the Western hemisphere, governments are putting out timelines for decarbonization. That means there will be less gasoline-powered vehicles on the market and less (i.e. more expensive) gasoline to drive the remaining ones. An initiative covered in the Inuvik Drum back in 2019 from the Yukon government hopes to establish electric charging terminals along the Dempster Highway and the town would be wise to get involved in this.

Clearly, some important decisions are going to come before this upcoming council, so it’s important the town has good people sitting in those seats. The classic adage, “If you don’t vote, you don’t get to complain” needs to come back with a vengeance. At the very least, people who don’t cast a ballot for council can’t be at all surprised if council doesn’t go the direction they think it should. Voters need to take ownership of their government.

This is your town council, Inuvik. Let’s take some pride in it and vote.



About the Author: Eric Bowling

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