Inuvik's Mad Trapper bar wins bid to open on more Sundays after charged vote

After nearly two years of emotional debate, Inuvik's Mad Trapper bar will be able to open 26 Sundays a year, following a charged 4-3 vote Wednesday evening by town council.

Councillors Steve Baryluk, Kurt Wainman, Darrell Christie, and Natasha Kulikowski voted in favor of the bylaw, which will allow all establishments in the community with a class "A" liquor license to serve alcohol on Sundays from April 1 to September 30.

Vince Sharpe, Alana Mero, and Joe Lavoie voted against the bylaw, while Clarence Wood was travelling and unable to vote.

The proposed bylaw has been contentious since a version of it was first proposed in 2015. At that time, Rick Adams, the Mad Trapper's owner, asked the town to amend its bylaws so that he could sell alcohol every Sunday, as well as Good Friday.

After that suggestion was voted down by council, Adams amended his request to 26 Sundays a year.

• Inuvik's Mad Trapper wants bylaw changed so it can serve booze on Sundays
• Owner of Inuvik's Mad Trapper bar defends his pitch to open on more Sundays

The compromise still proved contentious. Debates on the topic led to community members in tears as they discussed the impacts of alcoholism on their families. The nearby Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk weighed in by sending a letter to Inuvik town council stating its opposition to any Sunday bar openings. 

• In 1st vote, Inuvik councillors split in favour of more Sundays for Mad Trapper Bar

The bylaw will take effect in 30 days.

'You said you wanted to listen to the people... that's not happening'

Immediately after the Wednesday vote, councillor Vince Sharpe called his fellow councillors "disgusting." 

Those remarks led to Jim McDonald, Inuvik's mayor, attempting to play the part of peacemaker, saying that regardless of what happens with the vote, "life will go on in Inuvik, and we still have a duty to meet the community as we are elected."

After the meeting, Sharpe and councillor Kurt Wainman exchanged verbal jabs in a heated confrontation, standing nose-to-nose.

At a council meeting Monday, Sharpe said that by voting for the bylaw, his fellow councillors were contradicting statements they made when running for council.

"You said you wanted to listen to the people and do what the people wished," he said. "From the vote that I saw in the last two meetings, that's not happening."