North

Details released for upcoming Kugluktuk liquor plebiscite

Alcohol rules in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, could drastically change next month if 60 per cent of voters choose to lift liquor current restrictions in a plebiscite scheduled for Oct. 22.

60 per cent vote needed to lift existing liquor restrictions in community

Kugluktuk is a restricted community with an alcohol education committee that approves permits to bring liquor into town. (CBC)

Rules surrounding alcohol in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, could drastically change next month.

The community is holding a liquor plebiscite on Oct. 22. Elections Nunavut recently released the question voters will face: "are you in favour of ending the current system of liquor restriction in Kugluktuk and having an unrestricted system where only the general liquor laws of Nunavut apply?"

In order to lift existing liquor restrictions in Kugluktuk, 60 per cent of voters or more need to be in favour of the change.

If that happens, the Kugluktuk alcohol education committee will be dissolved and residents will be able to order liquor from warehouses in Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit.

Kugluktuk is currently a restricted community where residents must apply to the local alcohol education committee for permission to order liquor.

The scheduled vote comes after 34 eligible voters in the community sent a petition to Nunavut's finance department in April, asking to lift the community's alcohol restrictions.

The vote is scheduled to happen at the community hall on Oct. 22, between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Advance voting will be available on Oct. 15 at the Kugluktuk Heritage Visitor Centre from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A proxy voting form is available for residents who are unable to be in the community to vote on Oct. 15 or Oct. 22.

With files from Michelle Pucci