Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Feb 08/99) - A strange phone call to a resident of Cambridge Bay last Thursday night has raised suspicions that Nav Canada is contemplating a strike or lockout of air traffic control workers.

David Crockatt was questioned on what he knew of Nav Canada and how important air service was to him.

"She asked me what would be the effect on you if Nav Canada would lock out the air traffic controllers or if the air traffic controllers were to go on strike," recalled Crockatt.

"Before I agreed to anything, I asked, 'Who are you doing this for?' She said she didn't know."

That's the same answer Nav Canada spokesperson Conrad Bellehumeur gave when asked the same question by News/North.

"That could be something the labour relations group is doing," said Bellehumeur. "I'm not aware of that and I'm not going to pursue or research it if they are."

Nav Canada and the Canadian Air Traffic Controllers Association have been attempting to hammer out a contract for the past two years. Negotiations have come to an impasse and both sides are now awaiting the first round of mediation, said Thomas Johnson, a CATCA Yellowknife member.

Bellehumeur said he was a spokesperson for the Nav Canada labour relations group. "If the company has decided to do that as a tactic or to find information, I'm not going to divulge that. It may or may not be the company, as it might or might not be the union."

Pressed further, he added, "We're trying to run a company. How we run our company is not our customers' business. Our customers' business is whether or not we're providing a service to them."

The most northern airports with air traffic controllers are in Yellowknife and Whitehorse. Community airport radio stations would not be affected by a strike or lockout. But if a strike or lockout were to occur, the air link between the NWT and the south would be frozen, unless special exceptions were made to keep it open.

CATCA national representatives did not return phone calls from News/North.