Don't bother calling government offices during lunch hour
Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (Feb 05/01) - W hat do you do in Nunavut when you need to call the government? You don't wait until your lunch break.
The chance of hearing a voice at the other end of the line when calling any hamlet office, Government of Nunavut department or Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. office between noon and 1 p.m. is low.
News/North called several offices one afternoon and out of 16 calls, three were answered. Well, two and a half.
Of the seven hamlet departments called around the territory, only one employee in Resolute Bay could be tracked down at home. Allie Salluvimiq was located because the municipality listed an after-hours phone number for him in the phone book.
"Well, we gotta eat. It's very simple," said the hamlet supervisor at about 12:20 p.m. about why the office shuts down every lunch hour. "The secretaries? They all go home, too."
Salluvimiq presents a very logical train of thought.
There were few human voices to be found at the four NTI offices, although Cambridge Bay employee wins a prize for being on duty.
Junna Ehaloak, the executive secretary at the land claims organization office in the Kitikmeot, said there is always someone in the office there.
"Someone's here at lunch every day to answer the phone if it's ringing," she explained. "They don't really have to be here but people like to stay inside and eat their lunch here where it's warm," she said.
Even the NTI office in Ottawa, a bustling southern centre, appears to leave its offices vacant over the lunch hour. We were lucky enough to track down one of the two NTI employees there.
"I just happened to come back early from lunch today," said Kathleen Tagoona at about 12:45 p.m. "Everyone should go home for lunch or out for a walk or whatever."
Of the three GN departments called, there were nothing but recorded greetings.
The answering machine at the sustainable development office in Cape Dorset did provide an emergency number.
The answering machine for Nunavut Arctic College in Gjoa Haven featured a vocal directory of learning centre staff.
But they were all at lunch.
