Maria Canton
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 09/99) - The Tulita Land Corporation has entered into a business venture with Great Slave Helicopters.

Announced on July 12, Sahtu Helicopters is headquartered out of Norman Wells and sees the Tulita Land Corp. as majority owners with 51 per cent of the company -- Great Slave Helicopters has 49 per cent.

The company is set up in such a way that allows for other land claimant groups in the Sahtu to enter into the deal, as direct and equal shareholders, on the side of the Tulita Land Corp.

"The door is open for other Sahtu land claimant corporations to join," said Gordon Yakeleya, director of Sahtu Helicopters and president of the Tulita Land Corp.

"We want to get this joint-venture company up and running as soon as possible and we're hoping other Sahtu Corps will join us shortly."

Yellowknife-based Great Slave Helicopters says the main goal of the venture is not only to expand their market in the Mackenzie Valley region, but also to encourage and support people in the region who may want to get involved in the aviation industry.

"Some of our main goals are to bring training and education to the youth in the area, to see them proliferate in the aviation industry," says Ron Askin, operations manager for Great Slave Helicopters.

"And of course, we are happy to access a new market with the help of Sahtu land claimant groups."

This deal is similar to one Great Slave Helicopters has in Hay River with Denendeh Helicopters Ltd.

"The Hay River company has been very successful and we've seen interested Dene youth take advantage of the resources available to them," said Askin.

"When we can make a difference with the youth it makes the company all the more profitable."

Yakeleya agrees that getting youth involved will have long-term benefits for the company.

"In the future we want to be able to train our people who are interested in becoming pilots or engineers," he said.

"We already have two young people who are interested in getting involved."

Great Slave Helicopters has had two helicopters stationed in Norman Wells for the last two years and Askin says he would like to see that increase to three in the near future.

The main clients in the area are oil and gas exploration companies, government and forestry companies.