Coppermine (Feb 02/04) - Uniting search and rescue efforts across Nunavut would give workers access to more training and better benefits, according to the four-year-old Kugluktuk Search and Rescue Society, which wants to represent the entire territory.

"It's to help out the smaller communities," said Peter Taptuna, one of 10 members of the Kugluktuk Search and Rescue Society.

"As a registered society we can get easier access to funding.

The society already assists the RCMP and wildlife officials during life-and-death community and Nunavut-wide incidents.

With police officers stationed in the community for only two years at a time, the group was originally formed to help them learn the lay of the land.

"Without knowing the land, or the conditions it got difficult for them at times," said Taptuna.

Search and rescue workers are volunteers from the region who use I.Q. (Inuit traditional knowledge)and have police authorization to bring in aircrafts if necessary, during a rescue effort.

"It's a pretty successful group," said Alex Buchan, community development officer with the hamlet.

"...they're the only one in Nunavut."

The future of the proposed territory-wide society -- and where it will be located -- is still up in the air. Taptuna said his group would like to consult with all search and rescue members in Nunavut before any decisions are made.