Iqaluit to seek militarys help in tackling dumpcano

The City of Iqaluit will meet with officials from the Department of National Defence to see if they can help put out the dump fire,which has been burning for almost three months.

Starting next week, hundreds of military personnel will be in Iqaluit for Operation Nanook. Each year the exercise brings together the armed forces and various agencies to practice handling potential emergencies in the Arctic.

This year, they plan to stage a scenario to save a cruise ship.

In an open letter, members of the citizens group, IqalummiutforAction, said there's no need for a hypothetical exercisewhen a real emergency exists.

A mock cruise ship exercise, though thats something that could possiblymaybe needed in the future, this right now is a crisis in a lot of peoples minds and needs to be extinguished now," said Christa Kunuk, a member of the group.

In the letter, the group asksthe military to consider turning this years exercise from a mock rescue to a real operation that will contribute directly to Arctic sovereignty and the well-being of Canadas Arctic citizens."

City councillor Joanasie Akumalik saidthe military could lend a much-needed helping hand.

With their expertise, knowledge and resources I think they could have doused the fire very quickly, he said. I heard about 800 personnel are coming in, so thats a lot of people. Thats a lot of hands. Thats a lot of muscle.

The Canadian military has been used in other municipal emergencies such as floods, forest fires and winter storms.

However, Iqaluit City Council will have to make a formal request to the military for assistance.

The city is set to start tackling the fire the week of August 24. Theyve approved spending up to $2.6 million on the operation.

They plan to ask the military to help transporting equipment needed to the landfill area to fight the fire.

At the very least, Iqalummiut for Action hopes the military will pack out its own garbage.