Arthur Milnes
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 07/98) - News of the Nunavut-NWT split on the future ownership of the famous polar bear licence plate appears to have gone far and wide -- at least across the mountains and into the Yukon that is.

Bill Barnie, a former Iqaluit art teacher -- 1974-1984 -- has sent along his design for a new NWT plate to the GNWT in Yellowknife.

His choice?

A raven plate. In turn, Nunavut, the home of most of the North's polar bears, would be able to keep the famous bear design.

Everyone would be happy in Barnie's view.

"My raven looks more like a raven than their (Nunavut) bear looks like a polar bear," he says proudly from his Whitehorse gallery and frame store. "The polar bear is really identified with the East and the raven is really identified with the West.

"I think it would be even more collectible than the polar bear plate anyway."

Barnie began working on his design after the issue of plate ownership came up while he was talking to some old friends from Iqaluit. He got to work soon after.

He's faxed his design to the NWT legislature for consideration.

GNWT press secretary Judy Langford confirmed last week the raven design has been received.