Iqaluit city council approves final ingredient for Nunavut Brewing Company water

The Nunavut Brewing Company and other Iqaluit businesses will be getting water after weeks ofcontroversy about whether the city would be able to deliver it.

"It's been a larger delay in my personal career," said Mike Wayne, brewmaster at Nunavut Brewing.

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"The ownership team has been phenomenal for managing through all of these challenges, so I think I am most excited by being able to offer them a beer."

Wayne was at city council on Tuesday night, where councillors voted to have city trucks and staff deliver trucked water services to existing businesses that need more than 2,000 litres a day.

A number of options

The decision was selected fromfive options presented by city staff. Other choices includedcontracting services, licensed hauling both with and without a bylaw change, or asking city administration to consider more options.

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The conversation cameafter council votedagainst changing a bylaw on July 23 that would have allowedthird-party help. The bylaw states the city's trucked services plan has a delivery limit of 2,000 litres of water to businesses per day as it does not have the staff or trucks to deliver more.

A public consultation was held on the situation last week.

With community feedback in mind, Coun. Kyle Sheppard made a motion for the city to enter into service agreements to provide trucked water and sewage services to existing businesses requiring more than 2,000 litres.

"This seems like the best case scenario, people have requested that the city maintain control of the resources, control of the service and has indicated a desire for the city to provide these services for our businesses," he said.

Council 'too afraid to do the logical thing'

Most of the councillors voted in favour of the motion, but not withoutsome concerns.

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"So as far as I can read, option one basically is to push the city staff, push the city equipment and push the city infrastructure to the limit that they are possiblycapable of because this council was too afraid to do the logical and realistic thing and rewrite a 30-year-old bylaw," said deputy mayor Romeyn Stevenson.

Nonetheless, brewery staff were smiling at the notion of gettingwater after months of delays. Wayne said the brewery plans to open its doors on Aug. 24.