Fort Simpson (Oct 15/04) - Nellie Cournoyea, a veteran leader from the Beaufort-Delta, says political involvement is virtually inseparable from business matters in the North.

"For heaven's sakes, if we could run everything in a purely business fashion it would be wonderful, but in the Northwest Territories every time you sneeze it's political, whether you like it or not," said Cournoyea, chair and chief executive officer of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC).

In Fort Liard, Chief Floyd Bertrand's predecessors, chiefs Judy Kotchea and Harry Deneron, held executive positions on the Beaver Enterprises board while they were chief. In Inuvik, Cournoyea said the head of the IRC used to serve on the Inuvialuit Development Corporation's board, but the jobs have grown too large for one person to do.

The IRC, the parent body for the Inuvialuit land-claim settlement, sets the "overall stage," while the development corporation forms its own strategic direction, she said.

"But we all work together," said Cournoyea. "Just because we have different sectors in our organization, we always say we have one land claim and we have the Inuvialuit beneficiaries to answer to."