BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
GN answers Clyde River ‘SOS’ over lack of staff, unnecessary purchases GN answers Clyde River ‘SOS’ over lack of staff, unnecessary purchases
Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News
Unpaid employees, an expired union contract and municipal leadership that was “missing in action” led Clyde River to ask the Government of Nunavut to appoint a supervisor to help manage its operations.
Emails between the hamlet and Nunavut’s Department of Community and Government Services in 2023 show the municipality’s operations were struggling. Nunatsiaq News obtained the emails under Nunavut’s access to information law.
“There was a lack of direction both from the elected officials and from management of the hamlet,” said Daryl Dibblee, the administrator appointed by the Government of Nunavut in January to help the hamlet get its house in order.
“A lot of them were just missing in action,” Dibblee said in an interview last week about how much has changed in the six months since his appointment.
Dibblee said when he was appointed at the end of January, the hamlet was running a financial surplus, but there were problems, including former employees who left due to a lack of pay and a contract with its unionized municipal workers that had not been renewed in five years.
The hamlet was also lacking new water and sewage trucks, Dibblee said.
At the same time, a previous chief administrative officer had acquired two articulated rock trucks, which Dibblee said the hamlet did not need, and were costing the community $35,000 a month.
Under Nunavut’s Hamlets Act, the community and government services minister can place a hamlet under municipal supervision for numerous reasons, including financial and operational difficulties.
Elected mayors and councillors keep their seats under these orders, but a municipal supervisor is appointed for a year to help hamlets resolve their issues.
Clyde River’s council voted Jan. 16 to request the government put an order in place. That order came into effect Jan. 26. Coincidentally, the government also put Kinngait under a supervision order in January due to staffing issues in that hamlet.
Concerns about operations in Clyde River were raised months before the supervision order went into effect, according to emails.
An Oct. 2 email from hamlet community economic development officer Billy Palluq to Community and Government Services deputy minister Kyle Seeley with the subject line “SOS” raised concerns, including the lack of staff and unnecessary equipment purchases.
Department staff visited Clyde River during the week of Oct. 16 and confirmed the need for support, according to an email from assistant deputy minister Jessica Young.
She encouraged council to request a supervisor to ensure the hamlet was complying with legislation and agreements.
On Jan. 29, Community and Government Services Minister David Joanasie formally let Clyde River’s council and mayor know the order was in place.
“The Hamlet of Clyde River is facing significant operational difficulties, and external intervention is necessary,” Joanasie wrote in a letter.
Since then, Dibblee said, things have been going much better. A new union contract is in place. Staff who had previously not been paid have now been paid retroactively.
The hamlet is also due to receive new water and sewage trucks on the sealift this summer, while the costly rock trucks will be sent back to the supplier.
Staff are coming back, Dibblee said, and the hamlet is close to having a new chief administrative officer.
“Things are really good,” Dibblee said.
“For a long time, people didn’t want to come to work for the hamlet. Now, people are very anxious to come to work for the hamlet, and I think we’ve got some good management coming in.”
While the supervision order expires Jan 25, 2025, Joanasie can end it early or extend it.
Dibblee says he can provide support to the new chief administrative officer, once that hiring happens and he expressed optimism about the positions that have been filled.
“Some of the spots just weren’t filled, but they are now, and that makes all the difference in the world and the way that the operation runs, and people feel respected,” he said.
The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited. Access can also be gained by registering and logging in at: https://lji-ijl.ca.
Unpaid employees, an expired union contract and municipal leadership that was “missing in action” led Clyde River to ask the Government of Nunavut to appoint a supervisor to help manage its operations.
Emails between the hamlet and Nunavut’s Department of Community and Government Services in 2023 show the municipality’s operations were struggling. Nunatsiaq News obtained the emails under Nunavut’s access to information law.
“There was a lack of direction both from the elected officials and from management of the hamlet,” said Daryl Dibblee, the administrator appointed by the Government of Nunavut in January to help the hamlet get its house in order.
“A lot of them were just missing in action,” Dibblee said in an interview last week about how much has changed in the six months since his appointment.
Dibblee said when he was appointed at the end of January, the hamlet was running a financial surplus, but there were problems, including former employees who left due to a lack of pay and a contract with its unionized municipal workers that had not been renewed in five years.
The hamlet was also lacking new water and sewage trucks, Dibblee said.
At the same time, a previous chief administrative officer had acquired two articulated rock trucks, which Dibblee said the hamlet did not need, and were costing the community $35,000 a month.
Under Nunavut’s Hamlets Act, the community and government services minister can place a hamlet under municipal supervision for numerous reasons, including financial and operational difficulties.
Elected mayors and councillors keep their seats under these orders, but a municipal supervisor is appointed for a year to help hamlets resolve their issues.
Clyde River’s council voted Jan. 16 to request the government put an order in place. That order came into effect Jan. 26. Coincidentally, the government also put Kinngait under a supervision order in January due to staffing issues in that hamlet.
Concerns about operations in Clyde River were raised months before the supervision order went into effect, according to emails.
An Oct. 2 email from hamlet community economic development officer Billy Palluq to Community and Government Services deputy minister Kyle Seeley with the subject line “SOS” raised concerns, including the lack of staff and unnecessary equipment purchases.
Department staff visited Clyde River during the week of Oct. 16 and confirmed the need for support, according to an email from assistant deputy minister Jessica Young.
She encouraged council to request a supervisor to ensure the hamlet was complying with legislation and agreements.
On Jan. 29, Community and Government Services Minister David Joanasie formally let Clyde River’s council and mayor know the order was in place.
“The Hamlet of Clyde River is facing significant operational difficulties, and external intervention is necessary,” Joanasie wrote in a letter.
Since then, Dibblee said, things have been going much better. A new union contract is in place. Staff who had previously not been paid have now been paid retroactively.
The hamlet is also due to receive new water and sewage trucks on the sealift this summer, while the costly rock trucks will be sent back to the supplier.
Staff are coming back, Dibblee said, and the hamlet is close to having a new chief administrative officer.
“Things are really good,” Dibblee said.
“For a long time, people didn’t want to come to work for the hamlet. Now, people are very anxious to come to work for the hamlet, and I think we’ve got some good management coming in.”
While the supervision order expires Jan 25, 2025, Joanasie can end it early or extend it.
Dibblee says he can provide support to the new chief administrative officer, once that hiring happens and he expressed optimism about the positions that have been filled.
“Some of the spots just weren’t filled, but they are now, and that makes all the difference in the world and the way that the operation runs, and people feel respected,” he said.
The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited. Access can also be gained by registering and logging in at: https://lji-ijl.ca.