This entry is about the availability of alcohol in Rankin Inlet. Also, fyi, if you want to add me to skype, my ID is joanne.barnum
Hello again,
I’m currently watching the canucks game via skype. Literally, my parents have put a laptop in front of their tv and are skyping the game to me. That has to be the most un-technologically-savvy way of watching the game (considering most people here do have cable) but it’s nice, it lets me hear their reactions. I can almost taste the pizza and beer. Thanks again! (also, a highlight was dancing with my niece and being fed from her fake bottle via skype. Amazing.)
So I have been learning tons since I got here (less about the legal components of my job, more about the structure of Rankin and Nunavut as a whole). The most important lesson I’ve learned as of yet was that my packing job was less than adequate. I did a great job of nailing the right clothes to bring, (the right quantity and quality), the right electronics for my needs, and the right work out gear (minus my 5lb dumbbell that didn’t quite make it on as a carry on, I miss you already). My strawberry rations are now depleted and I am preparing for a summer of $1.50 per apple and $1 per banana.
My fatal mistake, however, was packing laundry detergent, olive oil, and toilet paper. Don’t get me wrong, these are all extremely expensive items up here, so I definitely saved money bringing them with me; however, had I been fully informed of the liquor situation up here, I may have left these heavier items at home and went for my number one summer staple: alcohol.
While some communities up here are “dry” (meaning you are not allowed to drink, PERIOD. END OF STORY.), other communities like Rankin are “restricted”. This means that you can’t technically buy liquor here, but you won’t be arrested on the spot for drinking.
Last night I had drinks with the liquor commissioner. Haha. He better explained the liquor situation in Rankin. Here’s the deal—right by my work, there is a big warehouse filled with alcohol, but people here can’t buy it. The warehouse holds liquor for nearby communities, so it can be ordered and flown out to them. If you are a Rankin resident, you have to go to the warehouse, order your liquor, and then it is flown in from Iqaluit. It takes several days to arrive, and the freight prices are extremely high.
Liquor distribution is structured this way to allow for “delayed gratification”—meant to combat alcoholism and unpremeditated consumption. Not only do you have to be willing to pay extremely high prices for alcohol (example—a coworker of mine paid $140 for 4 $10 bottles of wine), as well as order several days in advance for a planned event, but you have to be approved by the RCMP before they will order your alcohol. Literally, they won’t allow you to order alcohol until they’ve done a full background check.
The people here have many complaints about the system—mainly that it’s annoying for those that don’t over-consume that they have to wait to actually get the product they order when there is warehouse full of goods in the “center” of “town” (ironic quotation marks). The other major concern is BOOTLEGGING (is it wrong that my first reaction when I heard that bootlegging was a problem my first thought was “I wonder where I can find said bootlegged liquor…”?) Apparently it’s running rampant—there are even conspiracy theories that the reason the less-than-effective system hasn’t changed is because the bureaucrats are being paid off by the bootleggers—I doubt it, but maybe I can put my super-sleuthing skills to work on this…
So good job, liquor board! It worked. I will not be drinking, as I am too cheap. Looks like I’ll be “giving up alcohol” for the summer. A fast, if you will.
In all seriousness, though, alcoholism is a huge problem up here. Most of the clients we serve up here in Legal Aid are either suffering from alcoholism or are victims of crime as a result of alcoholism. I do not take this lightly. I have made a myriad of silly alcohol-induced decisions in my lifetime, and perhaps this summer off will be good for my liver, (though possibly fatal for my sanity).
Really though, I had a few glasses of wine last night. So it’s not like I’ve “given it up” really. Well at least until I’m buying.
But the game is on. And I want a beer. Cruel, cruel world.
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