Rankin Inlet (Mar 06/06) - Good news on the economic front continues to roll out of Rankin Inlet.

Recently announced as the site for Nunavut's first trade school, Rankin will soon be home to Kivalliq Air's reservation centre.

Kivalliq Air pilots Kelly Stuesser, left, and Neil Penney prepare to fly a charter to Arviat from Rankin Inlet this past week. The airline has relocated its reservation centre to Rankin from Winnipeg, bringing six full-time jobs with it. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

The relocation from Winnipeg becomes effective March 15 and brings six full-time jobs to Rankin.

Kivalliq Air northern base manager John McFee said the airline has been considering the move for some time.

He said personnel shuffles in Winnipeg provided the perfect opportunity to relocate the centre to Rankin.

"We had two offices in the main terminal building at the Rankin airport, so a wall was removed between them to create one space to run the operation from," said McFee.

"A number of travellers in the region have looked to Rankin for help and information in the past.

"With the reservation office in Winnipeg, we often had to act as a go-between and this will remove that layer of communication to allow decisions to be made here.

"Having that direct contact with our clientele is something our staff is looking forward to with this move."

Sakku Investments Corp. had an announcement of its own this past month.

The Rankin-based investment arm of the Kivalliq Inuit Association has inked a three-year deal with Inukshuk Geomatics Inc. (IGI) to provide geomatics and land-specialist services in Nunavut as Inukshuk Nunami Geomatics.

IGI is a full-services firm offering geomatics and land-specialist services in Northern Canada through offices in Inuvik and Calgary.

Sakku president and CEO Brock Junkin said the deal positions Sakku to participate in economic and employment opportunities generated in the Kivalliq, and across Nunavut, by combining the expertise of Inukshuk and the knowledge of Sakku.

He said the move is another step in building the necessary capacity for Inuit to participate in their economy.

"Survey work is part of the mix of our economy, whether that be in exploration, setting up subdivisions for municipalities or the mining industry itself," said Junkin.

"It's a piece of expertise quite important to the development of the North and one Sakku will be active in.

"We'll arrange training for beneficiaries to get in on the entry-level areas, and then prepare them to take part in the more technically-challenging areas.

"The actual entry-level areas for instruments don't require a huge amount of technical expertise."