by Mark Sproxton
Northern News Services

NNSL (NOV 04/96) - Many economic opportunities for Northern business lie in Greenland, according to representatives from the NWT Chamber of Commerce.

But the key to making any economic ties successful will hinge on the improving transportation links, said Joy Stewart of Igloo Building Supplies in Hay River.

"They seem to be shipping any products from Canada via Denmark," she said. "When it gets there, the freight is worth more than the product."

In discussions with officials from the Greenland government's transportation ministry, Stewart said they were investigating setting up a Canadian link through Churchill, Man.

"If that came to be, there could be some business trading done," she added.

Churchill is one of the main transportation links Canada uses to supply parts of Nunavut and to export products overseas.

Don Yamkowy, president of the NWT chamber, said there may also be opportunities in supplying fresh products, such as milk, or building materials.

There are no trees on the island and labor costs range from $20 to $30 per hour, Yamkowy said. Products could conceivably be built in the NWT and sold in Greenland.

The Greenlanders are also looking to do business with Northerners.

In a speech to the NWT visitors, Industry Minister Peter Gronvold Samuelsen said the "soil should be ripe for co-operation between Nunavut and Greenland."

During the Oct. 21-23 trade mission to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, Northern business people were also able to extend invitations to their hosts to the Nunavut Trade Show in Iqaluit next year and Prospects North in Yellowknife in 1998.