Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Oct 16/00) - Whether it be the still new smelling Government of Canada building or the slightly decrepit digs which house many of the Government of Nunavut's departments, partitions are being used around the capital to give workers the dignified notion that they have come into their own.

"We certainly have them," said Wende Halonen, the director of communications for the Nunavut government. Referring to the pseudo-offices her employees inhabit, Halonen -- who has her own spot in the trenches among her employees -- said the cubicles added an element of privacy otherwise not available in such a limited amount of space.

She disagreed with pop culture's assessment of cubicles as demoralizing, adding that she'd posted motivational and humorous phrases on the walls to uplift her workers' spirits.

As for communications officers using their cubicles as sleeping compartments, Halonen said she hadn't seen anybody catching any shut-eye.

"We're too busy for that. The phone never stops ringing here," she said.

Ted Little, a research scientist at the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office, is surrounded by cubicles bearing the label Corcan. Corcan, an employment program for inmates in Canada's correctional facilities, is the name found on most of the cell-like partitions in Iqaluit. But Little said he didn't feel like a prisoner at work.

"It's totally fine. There are absolutely no problems. None. Zero," said Little.

In an effort to personalize her own little slice of cubicle heaven, department of Indian affairs and Northern development administrative assistant Nancy Kisa has hung up pictures of her family.

That's important said Jennifer Lily, DIAND's regional communications manager and one of the few employees lucky enough to have her own office with real walls and a door.

"I'm definitely not a psychologist, but it does make the work environment seem more homey," said Lily. "It makes for a more productive work environment."