With years of building under its belt, Pond Inlet turns its sights on tourism, men's shelter

To hear Pond Inlet's senior administrative officer tell it, the small Nunavut hamlet has had a series of banner years.

Among the litany of projects being built in the community of about 1,500, a new wellness centre is nearly complete and a shelter for women and girls is on the verge of opening.

"It's going to be a fantastic facility," said senior administrative officer David Stockley about the shelter. It'll have five separate bedrooms, a playroom for kids and high security when work finishes on it in a few months.

The hamlet is also hoping to secure federal and territorial funding for a separate men's shelter, and Stockley said they've already got a building picked out for it.

"It's not only the ladies and girls that need a shelter from time to time — there [are] a lot of men in the community that need that help, from a shelter standpoint," he said. "We're hoping that's going to materialize."

Stockley estimates about $14 million in funding has flowed into Pond Inlet over the past four years for infrastructure projects. The money has helped fund equipment for roads, water and sewage, though Stockley said more is still needed to expand the hamlet's airport and fix the water treatment facility.

Among the successful projects so far, the wellness facility is just waiting for some doors before it's ready. It'll have a wellness coordinator as well as justice and victim services personnel, and Stockley said there are also plans to have a counselling service.

"That's going to be sort of online, so if you want to talk to a counsellor, we can set you up ... and you can come there for a session. It would be very private," he said. "You basically do it online with a counsellor either down south or we also have counsellors set up in Clyde River."

The hamlet has also earmarked funds for a fitness centre. It's received funds for the centre's first phase and is hoping to get enough for the second phase soon.

"That's going to be huge for the community, because it's a place for people to go, for people to be able to communicate with people in the community," he said.

As for housing projects, Stockley said the hamlet has built a subdivision where three five-plexes are being completed. He said a scientific centre is also being built in that subdivision, and the community has plans for transitional housing, duplexes and hopefully more five-plexes in the future.

Stockley said the hamlet is also examining the possibility of using sea cans as a way to build cheaper homes, as they don't require individual piles for construction.

All this building, Stockley said, means the airport just isn't big enough for what the community needs now.

"Sometimes, the people are lined up from the front counter out through the door, halfway across the street. It's just ridiculous, really, for a community that's growing as fast as Pond Inlet is," he said.