Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 14/00) - A laid off Giant worker on his way out of town says it's hard to say goodbye to Yellowknife.

"I've set a lot of roots in the community and I've known a lot of people," Bob Kosta said.

Kosta worked at Giant for 23 years before being laid off in December. He, like more than 200 others, was laid off from the bankrupt mine last December and has not received severance pay.

"It's hard to move, but neither can I sit around and wait for a slim chance of getting back or going to work at a lower pay job. You can't survive here," Kosta said.

"The chance has come up here to go to the University of Winnipeg, so I'll have to take that chance and see what happens from there."

Kosta will be moving to Winnipeg sometime after the current school year ends. He will be taking a one-year, $15,000 tuition Internet systems analyst course.

"If there's a good job offer, we'll decide on whether we come back here or not," Kosta said about his plans after completing the course. Kosta's wife of two years, Mary, also doesn't want to leave Yellowknife.

"It's really awful to leave the North," Mary said. "It's sad for our kids to leave the North."

Mary and Bob have two children, Lauren and Marita.

Mary used to teach Dene literacy and interpreter courses.

"I'm going to really miss the Dene community. I'm going to really miss that a lot. That's part of me," Mary said.

Earlier this year Mary embarked on a three-week hunger strike in support of Giant miners. In addition to the severance issue, she has been protesting the 25 per cent cutback to hourly pension benefits, which began April 1.

"It's just horrible what people have gone through," Mary said. "The toll this has taken on people is tremendous."

Mary may go back on another hunger strike, though she worries she might lose her job.

"I can't do my job if I get really exhausted. That's the fear."

But, Mary said, "I'd even be prepared to lose my job because this fight is so important. The fight isn't just for my family, it's for everybody."

Meanwhile, the president of the Yellowknife Real Estate Board said the market is picking up. Willy Chidowe said there is a shortage of houses within the price range of $205,000 to $250,000.

"Anybody who's got a house that's in that range, 205 to 250, it's not going to last long, because we do have a shortage," Chidowe said.

"Most people thought because of Giant we were going to see a lot of houses come on the market, but that seems to be really the reverse."

Chidowe said one factor which made business really good a year ago was the $10,000 grant offered to first- time homeowners by the NWT government.