Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Jan 28/02) - Priests, bartenders and taxi drivers all perform the same vital role in society. Each professional, whether they want to or not, listens to the confessions of their clients.

The only difference is the environment of the confession and what the professional listener offers to the confessor -- absolution, a martini or a lift downtown -- once they unburden themselves.

A brief survey of drivers around the territory reveals the truth of the situation. Whether it be the capital city or a tiny hamlet on the Arctic Coast, customers hitching a ride often unload their sins on the person behind the wheel.

Alastaire Harvey of Triple A taxi in Kugluktuk says he thinks residents in his community talk to him as he chauffeurs them around because they trust him.

"Confidentiality is a big factor. I've been here for 24 years and fairly active in the community," says Harvey. "They know they can trust me."

Harvey says his previous role as a counsellor at Kugluktuk high school helped him develop the skills he now uses to advise customers what to do when they've fought with a loved one or been assaulted.

"I'm able to help a little bit or put them at ease," he says.

Taxi dispatcher and independent cab driver Craig Dunphy isn't sure he's able to put anyone at ease. Ear-witness to sexual assaults, drug purchases, prostitution, severe alcohol abuse and extramarital affairs, Dunphy says he's exposed to it all as he drives Iqalungmiut from point A to point B.

"You hear a lot and you see a lot," says Dunphy. "You hear So and So get in and talk about how he went out with this guy's wife and you're taking some MLAs home who are so drunk they can't walk."

Dunphy says the confessional atmosphere increases following a full moon or towards the end of the night -- perhaps when the bars close in the capital city.

"One woman got in the car and says she's going out with this guy who is married. She asks me if I can call him because his wife won't let him out of the house," he says.

Yet a third cabbie, who didn't want to let his name be used in case his words stifled customer's words or hurt business in his tiny community, says he is constantly surprised by what people tell him in his taxi.

"It's unbelievable the stories people are willing to tell a taxi driver, things they wouldn't tell anyone else," he says.

"They're relaxed when they're in the taxi and they treat you as a member of their family. It's almost like a confessional booth."