Iqaluit (May 23/05) - With his black pants and untucked black golf shirt, Nunasi Corp. president and CEO Fred Hunt looks like he's ready for a round of golf.

A number of pictures hanging in his Yellowknife office hint at his love of the links.

Nunasi Corp. president Fred Hunt tries to keep his company's business out of Nunavut's political arena.

But numerous carvings on wooden shelves tell of another passion: the Inuit of Nunavut.

The at-times-shockingly-honest Hunt has one simple goal: to earn money and help improve the quality of life for his shareholders, the Inuit of Nunavut.

"I have worked for the people of Nunavut my whole career, that's what I've done. My best friends in my entire life are the Inuit of Nunavut," said the 64-year-old.

What is now known as Nunasi Corp. was formed in 1976 by Inuit Tapirisit Kanatami through debt-financing, to act as the economic development arm of Canada's Inuit.

When Hunt came on board in 1988, the land claim was still not settled and Nunasi was struggling to deal with a $13-million debt load.

"It was very political, and it was tough stuff," he recalled. "There was no guarantee that we would come out successfully from that."

He calls the solution, which involved divesting the organization of a number of bad ventures, "a mixture of good business and good politics."

Prior to coming North in 1971, Hunt had a life many dream of, with a duplex in a Toronto suburb, a car, a round of golf every Saturday and a secure job working as a heating technician.

Then, when he was 30 years old, a four-month leave of absence to teach English in Iglulik turned into more than 34 years spent living and working in the North with his wife Donna and their four children, two of whom were adopted in Pond Inlet.

The straight-talking Nunasi president and CEO has been with the company for more than 17 years now, but still prefers to stay out of the media spotlight.

"I try like hell to avoid mixing the politics with the business, but it's impossible," he said.

Hunt said he's "continually under pressure from the government of Nunavut" to move Nunasi's Yellowknife office into Nunavut.

"(Staying here) makes the most economic sense for Nunasi," he said, adding the move would likely quadruple the organization's overhead.

Having paid off its debts long ago, the company now runs off money earned through holdings and joint-ventures in numerous businesses.

The most notable being Nunasi's majority interest in Norterra Inc., which owns the airline Canadian North.

With sales of nearly $176 million, fiscal 2003 net earnings totalled nearly $8.9 million.

"We are putting in, we are not taking out of the land claims process," he said of Nunasi, which, unlike other regional development corporations, does not receive money from the Nunavut Land Claims Settlement.

Hunt and his Nunasi team have visited every community in Nunavut, but in one of the world's most isolated landscapes, communication is often a problem.

"I can tell you there are many beneficiaries that don't know they're shareholders in Nunasi Corp.," he said.

The communication breakdown has come about because it is nearly impossible to visit communities on a yearly basis, Hunt says, though not for a lack of effort.

But he is encouraged by e-mails received from Inuit youth across the territory, asking if they can send him resumes.

Some development organizations, such as the government-funded Nunavut Development Corp., exist to create jobs, regardless of whether or not they make money.

While Nunasi is focused on developing its employees' skills and careers, it is definitely not a make-work operation.

"We can't survive if we're not profitable," he said simply.