Former Iqaluit mayor's trip to Iceland cost city nearly $10K
CBC
The trip for Iqaluit's former mayor to attend a conference in Iceland that he never showed up for cost the city nearly $10,000.
Kenny Bell had a planned trip to Reykjavik, Iceland, from Oct. 11 to 17 to represent Iqaluit as a delegate and speaker at the recent Arctic Circle Conference.
But the city said he missed the sessions. Then, on Tuesday, the mayor posted to Twitter that he was resigning from his position and did not give a reason.
On Thursday, Bell posted to his new Twitter account that he "could have easily went to the one speaking event and not paid a cent but because I decided I was going to resign I didn't want to take up space and will pay the city back for the costs."
His new Twitter profile has been made private.
The city said Bell has not yet repaid the costs.
The breakdown of his expenses for the trip, according to the city's economic development officer Geoffrey Byrne, includes $4,691.20 for flights, $3,938.18 for accommodations and $855.40 for registration fees for the conference.
Byrne said council is discussing what will happen in the event Bell does not repay the city, and that he doesn't have any further information on that at this time.
In a news release Tuesday afternoon, the city said Deputy Mayor Solomon Awa will fill in as mayor and Coun. Kyle Sheppard will serve as deputy mayor "until council determines or until the next municipal election." That election is set to take place next fall.
Under the Nunavut Elections Act, council may appoint an elected councillor as mayor for the remainder of the term or hold a by-election.
Byrne said the city is expected to decide on how it will proceed at an upcoming council meeting.
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