Inuvik (Dec 12/03) - While not their full-time jobs, Colin Day and Julian Tomlinson take great pride in the work they do as Canadian Rangers.

The 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol has groups located throughout the North and is comprised of 59 patrols in the Yukon, NWT, Nunavut and Northern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Members are part-time reservists who protect the country's sovereignty by reporting unusual activities, collecting information for the Canadian Forces and conducting patrols.

In April of 2002, both Day and Tomlinson took part in a patrol that took them to the Magnetic North Pole. Organized to commemorate the Rangers' 60th anniversary, the month-long patrol was the largest and longest sovereignty patrol in Canadian history.

On Monday evening, Day and Tomlinson were awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for their participation in the endeavour.

A hunter and trapper by trade, 37-year-old Day joined the Rangers in 1996.

"A lot of the other Rangers wanted me to join because I spend a lot of time on the land," he said. "So I know the area pretty well."

Day has a camp between Inuvik and Aklavik where he traps mink, marten and lynx and hunts moose. With a wife and young family, Day says he has had to take a maintenance job in town.

Nevertheless, Day still enjoys getting out on the land as much as possible and he says that being a Ranger gives him one more opportunity to do just that.

"My heart is on the land," he said.

And his knowledge of the land is of great importance when the Rangers are often called upon to locate people who are lost or have broken down in the bush.

Learning from masters

For Tomlinson, co-ordinator and senior instructor of Aurora College's Recreational Leaders Program, joining the Rangers gave him the opportunity to learn from whom he refers to as masters.

"These guys (fellow Rangers) are the world's best Arctic travellers," he said. "They make what is really tough going look easy and safe and I really enjoy hanging out with them. They've got a great sense of humour."

The 37-year-old joined the Rangers in 2001 as a gesture of thanks. In 2000, Tomlinson helped to deliver a bottle of Arctic water to Ottawa to commemorate the opening of the Trans-Canada Trail. During his journey by skis, dogsled and snowmobile, Rangers helped to guide him overland from Tuktoyaktuk to Iqaluit.

From that experience, Tomlinson said he gained a respect for the Rangers' skills and wanted to learn from them.