Councillor Noah Papatsie plans to call for curfew in Iqaluit

An Iqaluit city councillor says he will call for a curfew for youth at the city's next public safety meeting.

Noah Papatsie suggested the idea as a means of curtailing property destruction in Iqaluit. Last week, an Iqaluit business sparked controversy when it posted a video of children causing mischief late at night.

Papatsie says there are problems with vandalism in the city.

"Having a good community, it's a must," he says. "I want everyone to be happy and be welcome."

Curfews for youth have been instated in other communities across the North in the past. In the fall of 2012, Pond Inlet, Nunavut, instituted a curfew, and Inuvik, Northwest Territories, currently has a curfew bylaw in place, though it is not enforced.

Two years ago, another Iqaluit city councillor, Terry Dobbins, proposed a curfew for the city as a response to a rash of fires.

Papatsie says other methods could be used to curtail youth vandalism, and suggested opening a downtown youth centre would help reduce the problem.

"Down here in downtown, there's not a youth centre, there's not other things for children up here," he says. "Everything's uptown, and there's not really transportation to get up there for anyone."

Papatsie, a father of three, thinks a curfew bylaw could bring "a lot of change," but suggested that parents, businesses and community volunteers all need to do more to keep Iqaluit's youth out of trouble.

"Just teaching them how to go home after school, teaching them how to be better during the night, being around people. You know, helping elders, adults, and what not. Everyone within the city and the community needs to work together to try and address this problem better."

Papatsie is the co-chair of Iqaluit's public safety committee. Their next meeting has not yet been scheduled. Iqaluit's next city council meeting takes place on January 27.