Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 26/01) - John Thomas can tame Canada's fiercest bird.

In an emergency, he can shut down the engines on an CF-18, disarm its weapons and deactivate its ejection seat.

John Thomas runs a huge warehouse on the outskirts of town. He is the city's public works distribution supervisor. - Nathan VanderKlippe/NNSL photo

He can also wade into a fire burning at 538 C, ship anything anywhere in the world, and get you anything you need in Iqaluit.

Thomas, the distribution supervisor for the Iqaluit of Department of Public Works, has a resume that is more exciting than might be expected from a person in his position.

Coming to Iqaluit with First Air in the late 1980s, he fell in love with the place and stayed. He grew up hunting with his father, and Baffin's boundless natural environment captivated him.

"Why do I love it here? I'm an outdoors person, and I've been hunting here for about 12 years. I married an Inuk, had kids, bought a house ...."

He's intimately involved with education, coaches hockey and soccer, for a time ran an ammunition shop and has even begun a club for would-be prospectors.

After First Air, he worked in emergency services, both at the fire department and the airport crash, fire and rescue team. There he trained in extreme fire conditions and learned about working with downed fighter jets.

Thomas started with public works in finance, and was later promoted to distribution officer. Now he's responsible for the entire public works warehouse, the revolving stock, surplus assets, storage and sealifts.

His experience with First Air, which included cargo handling, has come in useful, he says. "There isn't anything that I can't send for someone somewhere."

He also worked for an outdoor outfitting company for a time, which gave him a solid primary knowledge of the territory. "I know all the communities, and have pretty well flown into most of them," Thomas says.

In Iqaluit, the community he calls home, he is enamoured of the possibilities of living off the land. In between work and volunteer commitments, he is a hunter at heart.

"I live for May," he says. "All the geese and ducks come -- thousands of flocks come in at the floe edges. I love going out hunting with a taluaq to sneak up on seals and get close enough to shoot them. It's a great time."