Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Sep 26/01) - Nunavut airports were shut down as quickly as any in Canada following the terrorist attacks on the United States earlier this month.

That, unfortunately, is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the ramifications such terrorist activities can have on the Northern way of life.

Shawn Maley, director of the Kivalliq Region for the Department of Community Government and Transportation, says Northerners were lucky that most restrictions imposed after the attacks were lifted fairly quickly.

"Where we're so dependant upon air travel up here for transportation, medical, mail services, cargo -- the list just goes on and on -- any restrictions involving aviation can have an enormous impact on us," says Maley.

"It was a wake up call in the sense it really showed people, no matter where you work, that the global village is a pretty tightly knit community and we are going to be affected if and when a world situation happens."

With aviation being the lifeline to the North, even restrictions put in place to limit mail to 250 grams can have a huge impact on the day-to-day lives of many Northern residents. The vast majority of Northerners don't have the option of shipping by truck or train.

Maley says that, although he understands people's frustrations with some of the measures being put in place, security has to take top priority in ensuring the types of attacks to devastate the U.S. don't happen in Canada.

"I responded to someone who e-mailed me the week of the attacks to complain that restrictions shouldn't affect us all the way up here in Nunavut.

"Given the fact 60 per cent of daily flights in Nunavut originate in the South, and we know at least a couple of those terrorists originated from Southern Canada, you can understand why aviation authorities would be concerned whether you live in Rankin Inlet or Sudbury, Ont.

"We may not be the ones targeted, but our essential services are so tied into Southern infrastructure that when these things happen we will always be affected."