Residents voice worries and discuss safety improvements at community town hall
The mayor of Cambridge Bay says folks might be surprised by upcoming changes to airport security on some regional flights after recent violent attacks in the area.
Three men now face several charges including aggravated assault, forcible confinement, and drug trafficking following a July 8 incident that sent two men to a hospital in Edmonton and left the community shaken. A fourth man is charged with two counts of assault.
The victims were reportedly tied up, hit with hammers, and burned with boiling water. Rumors spread fast about an armed threat and possible lockdown in town after the attack.
Supt. Kent Pike, centre, talks while Pam Gross, left, and RCMP Sgt. Beth Phillip listen during Monday night’s town hall meeting in Cambridge Bay focused on public safety concerns. (Photo courtesy of Kitikmeot Inuit Association)
Mayor Wayne Gregory, MLA Pamela Gross from Cambridge Bay, and RCMP Supt. Kent Pike led a town hall Monday at Luke Novoligak Community Hall where locals shared their worries and leaders suggested ways to boost safety.
A big issue raised was the lack of security screening for regional flights like those running between Yellowknife and Cambridge Bay.
Gregory said he spoke with Yellowknife Mayor Ben Hendriksen and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty – who used to be Yellowknife’s mayor – about drugs coming into Kitikmeot Region from Yellowknife.
“Things that [people] would be able to do in the past in order to get things here, those avenues will be all cut off,” Gregory said.
He didn’t share any specifics about what these new security measures will be or when they’ll start.
The roughly 90 people attending showed “fear and anxiety,” according to Gregory.
One change coming soon is introducing an Alert Ready system that sends emergency alerts straight to phones, TVs, and radios.
“We’ll be doing a test of the system this Friday afternoon so that people know what to expect and can recognize an official message,” Gregory said.
Gregory also mentioned he happened to be at the RCMP station when false social media posts about an armed person and lockdown appeared on July 8. He couldn’t immediately clear things up because nothing was confirmed yet.
“That’s where a lot of the public anxiety came from – people were hearing rumours, seeing posts on social media, and wondering, ‘Why isn’t the hamlet saying anything?’” Gregory said.
“The truth is, we can only share what the RCMP confirms.”
They also talked about possibly setting up Citizens on Patrol or more community policing efforts along with sometimes bringing in an RCMP drug detection dog for visits here.
Cambridge Bay is one of seven Nunavut communities hiring a community safety liaison coordinator through a pilot project started this year by the Nunavut Association of Municipalities.
Gregory admitted hard drugs are present locally and urged residents to stay alert and report anything suspicious to police.
“We are aware of it, it comes in waves and is not a new thing,” Gregory said.
He added people can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS if they want to stay anonymous when reporting tips.
“The smaller the community and as the territory grows with new people coming in, it’s not a question of if something like this will happen again somewhere in the territory, it’s when,” Gregory said.
“Sometimes people will see something a little out of character; it is important to pass that information along. That might be the missing piece that the RCMP are looking for.”
The three suspects involved-Hadi Alhashesh (19) from Chilliwack B. C., Ly Gabriel Galido (22), and Ayaan Kamran Warsi (18), both from Edmonton-are currently held in custody.
