NNSL (Mar 25/98) - When Rankin Inlet student Adam Tanuyak presented Prime Minister Jean Chretien with the first harpoon he'd ever made, the gesture launched a project that would last well into the next millennium.

Tanuyak and Bill Belsey, computer teacher and founder of Igalaaq, Rankin Inlet's community access centre, were at the Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que., on March 12 to present the country's time capsule project to Chretien.

"This is where the project was nurtured, here in Rankin," said Belsey, beaming with obvious pride.

Community access centres in Rankin Inlet and Gaspe, N.B., two remote areas of the country, were chosen to start the project, which is designed to get Canadians to send information about the country to a database at Industry Canada that will become a time capsule.

As an indication of Rankin's close involvement in the project, the community's inukshuk is the Timecapsule2000 national symbol.

"It's all rather extraordinary," said Belsey.

The museum had several features pertaining to Rankin Inlet, including a computer wired to the Leo Ussak Web site, as well as a poster that illustrates how Canadians help countries around the world.

"And Igalaaq was there -- the idea being to serve as a model around the world," added Belsey.

Not a government initiative designed to spend large amounts of money on celebrating the turn of the century, the project will give money to communities to set up access centres and to create millennium-related programs.

With the project now well on its way, largely due to the students at Leo Ussak elementary school, the next step is to increase awareness about Timecapsule2000 across the country, get people involved in it and go national, Belsey added.

"We have to let people know they can all partake in this," he said. "It's all about community and individuals and grassroots Canada."