Grise Fiord (Oct 16/06) - Canada maintains a grasp on the North through the people who live there.

The people in Grise Fiord are now asking for some special help from the federal government, in return for their special status.

The letter... Dear Prime Minister Harper, As the Mayor of Canada's most northern and most "forgotten" community, I appeal to you on behalf of the residents of Grise Fiord for your intervention and immediate assistance. In the 1950s, the Canadian Government took a special interest in the High Arctic when it became known that there needs to be a presence of people in the North. It was around that time Grise Fiord was established to assert Canada's sovereignty to the High Arctic. Inuit from Northern Quebec and other Baffin communities were moved to the Grise Fiord area. Indeed, Inuit did not come to live in Grise Fiord by choice. We have followed your Arctic sovereignty message with interest. While visiting Alert on Ellesmere Island you stated, "Arctic sovereignty is not a theoretical concept, you either use it or lose it. Let me be absolutely clear that your new national government is committed to using." You concluded by stating that your government was committed to supporting a visible presence in the North. Mr. Prime Minister, as residents of Grise Fiord we are the PRACTICAL concept of asserting Canada's sovereignty and the REAL tangible, visible presence in the North. Our students (55 in total) suffer from a lack of recreational facilities children of the south take for granted, be it an arena or swimming pool. These facilities are critical to the health and well being of our children as they mature. At the present time our community only has a small under-sized gymnasium, which barely accommodates the residents of our town and provides limited activities for our children. Mr. Prime Minister, surely our children deserve the same access to recreational services as your children! We endure one of the harshest climates in the nation, being located only 1,500 km from the North Pole. Mean winter temperatures attain a low of -30 C and often plunge to -40 C. In addition, from the end of October until February, total darkness prevails. With a federal surplus of $13.2 billion dollars, surely the federal government could establish a Sovereignty Program to assist our community and provide necessary recreational facilities our children so richly deserve. On behalf of the residents of my community I plead for your assistance, support and help. Yours truly, Jarloo Kiguktak, Mayor

"I would like some more recognition for having kept sovereignty since people were sent here," said Grise Fiord mayor Jarloo Kiguktak.

Kigutak wrote a letter informing Prime Minister Stephen Harper that his community is in dire need of services for their youth. Without youth, there is no future, and no future sovereignty.

Inuit people were shipped to Grise Fiord from northern Quebec by the federal government in the 1950s to make sure that Canadians lived there, protecting sovereignty.

"With all he (Harper) plans put into sovereignty, maybe we could get something out of that too," said Kigutak.

Kigutak doesn't need helicopters or ice-breakers to protect Canada's claim to the North, he needs things for the youth to do.

"We would like a pool. We don't have a recreation centre or a rink. The kids need to learn how to swim, so that we don't lose people in the water. We need a place for them to go to learn something they need," said Kigutak.

Marty Kuluguqtuq, Grise Fiord's assistant senior administration officer, added, "Our infrastructure, including recreation, is extremely limited, especially for our youth and kids. There is no youth facility, no elders facility for that matter, except for the small gym," said Kuluguqtuq.

"We have been raising red flags about this for years. We are up here to assert sovereignty in the high Arctic. If Grise Fiord wasn't around, how far would that Romanian guy have got? We are the furthest north, and the government should appreciate that," said Kuluguqtuq.

For three-and-a-half months a year, the sun doesn't shine in Grise Fiord. Without a youth centre, pool or arena, the kids have little to do.

"There's basically nothing to do but stay home and watch TV," said Kuluguqtuq.