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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Arctic Sunwest Charters recently became the latest in a growing list of Yellowknife aviation companies to cut staff because of dwindling exploration work in the territory.

The company, owned by Yellowknife-based RTL Robinson Enterprises Ltd., confirmed a company-wide lay off of more than 20 staff in a press statement released Tuesday.

An Arctic Sunwest DHC-5 Buffalo, a popular choice among exploration camps and remote sites, takes off in 2007's sunnier times. It's likely the Buffalo will spend more time on the ground this year as slowing exploration work in the territory continues to hit charter companies hard. - photo courtesy of Arctic Sunwest Charters

"The rationalization of staff (layoffs) was made as there is not much optimism that business activity in our market segment will improve in the short term," said Thom Pilgrim, Sunwest vice-president and general manager, in the statement.

"This decision was made primarily due to significant decline in exploration and mining-based aviation activity," he added.

Members of Arctic Sunwest and RTL will not be offering any more comment than this on the decision to cut jobs, said Ashley Edwards Scott, the communications and marketing co-ordinator for Westcan Bulk Transport Ltd., RTL's sister company.

"We haven't finalized all the details yet," said Edwards Scott on Wednesday. "We just announced it yesterday to our staff; it's fairly new." Edwards Scott said the company is focused internally right now.

"We tend to keep focus on actually speaking to the employees and getting the situation under control internally. That's our priority right now," she said.

The company is the third to announce Yellowknife job cuts in the aviation business.

In November, Discovery Air axed six Yellowknife positions at its Northern subsidiaries – namely Great Slave Helicopters and Air Tindi – citing a decline in business from slowing exploration work.

Summit Air followed with temporary layoffs in January. The company did not release numbers but said the slow going at exploration sites had caused cutbacks in its entire workforce.

"What we're starting to see in the Northwest Territories is the effect and the lack of funding, (or) the inability to raise capital by the exploration industry," said Jon Jaque, Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce president.

Yellowknife relies on the exploration industry, he added, and when it feels the pain, so do Yellowknife businesses.

"The corner has been turned" for slowdown-related layoffs in Yellowknife, acknowledged Jaque, adding "I wouldn't create a panic about it." "In the NWT one-third of the workforce is government. They won't be affected by significant job cuts or layoffs. That creates a very stable sector in our economy," he said.

There is one key thing the territorial government can do, however, to help ease Yellowknifers' pain in tough times, he said.

"What needs to happen is our elected officials need to remain vigilant in keeping our cost of living (down)," Jaque said.

"That would continue to make it palatable for people to live here and even for people to move here."