'I don't have much trust': Public outcry sends Arviat tank farm back to the table
CBC
The Government of Nunavut has walked back its plans to build a new tank farm on the shores in Arviat after the hamlet council said it wanted a better consultation process in place, and after months of pushback from residents on the project's location.
How the proposal got as far as it did is raising questions in Arviat over how important decisions for the communities are made.
"I really can't put into words how disappointed I am, but also more shocked that we hadn't been more informed of the plans for this," says Nancy Karetak-Lindell, sitting in her family's home on the shoreline.
Karetak-Lindell's late husband built the house. Her youngest son, Nooks Lindell, now lives in it with his partner and three young children. Until recently, the area outside the home was set to be the site of the community's new fuel tank farm.
The Department of Community and Government Services initially presented the hamlet council with two locations for the tank farm: one by the shoreline or another inland. The hamlet chose the shoreline location in April 2022.
"The fact that the hamlet has said OK, this is the spot that we want, we're going to get it at any cost, without answering our questions," said Karetak-Lindell, "That scares me."
As part of the process, the hamlet council also passed a bylaw to rezone the shoreline location from a residential area to a heavy industrial zone. The hamlet now says the bylaw has been rescinded.
Then in April this year, the hamlet announced it would hold a vote on the two locations, which has also since been cancelled.
The process has also fractured residents' trust in those elected to represent their interests.
Karetak-Lindell, Nunavut's former Member of Parliament, believes there should have been better communication from the beginning.
In an interview before the project was cancelled, Karetak-Lindell said she felt the tank farm was a "them-and-us issue."
"That's not how elected people should be conducting themselves. They are supposed to listen to the concerns," she said.
Arviat Mayor Joe Savikataaq Jr. said hamlet council decided to cancel the project after considering "everything that has happened in the past two years."
He said the consultation process to select the tank farm site "should be enhanced to reflect the sensitivity of everything."
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