Kugluktuk optimistic about new alcohol committee

The majority of residents in the Nunavut hamlet of Kugluktuk hope an alcohol education committee will help their community address suicide, bootlegging, violence and other problems related to alcohol abuse.

On Monday, more than 65 per cent of voters who cast ballots in a local plebiscite voted in favour of establishing an alcohol education committee, which will decide who can consume and import liquor in the hamlet of about 1,300 as well as how much alcohol will be allowed in the community.

"Now that this alcohol is going to be controlled now, I believe that it's going to be really strong for our community," saidDanielle Adjun, 14, who took part in a demonstration and a high school play promoting alternatives to drinking.

Adjun said she prayed for a "yes" vote before the plebiscite results were made public on Tuesday.

"Hopefully there will be no more teens missing out of school, or no more bootleggers, and no more drunks on the streets," she said.

Like many northern communities, Kugluktuk has been dealing with social issues arising from alcohol abuse, from bootlegging and public drunkenness to children missing school and domestic violence.

Six months earlier, Adjun lost a relative to suicide. She said her 20-year-old relative had been drinking and had an argument with his girlfriend.

"It's really hard to get through it, especially because we were really close and because he was so young," she said Tuesday. "It's still really hurting us, especially our family, his friends, the community."

Kugluktuk Mayor Derrick Power said people can currently order as much alcohol as they want, but the committee could limit quantities.

"The community will be a better place to live," he said. "That's our hope."

Before any changes take place, the alcohol education committee will need members and guidelines. Power said Kugluktuk residents will elect members to the committee on Dec. 10.