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August 22, 2008
First Air to drop Kivalliq passenger service in September
"I'm in shock. It shouldn't happen."
JIM BELL
Badly wounded by its loss of a lucrative medical travel contract, First Air will drop its thrice-weekly Winnipeg-Thompson-Rankin Inlet passenger jet service as of Sept. 14.
"It's a sad day for the Kivalliq region," Scott Bateman, First Air's vice-president of commercial operations, said in an interview Aug. 15.
Passengers on that route with ticket reservations beyond Sept. 14 should call First Air or their travel agent for a full refund, Bateman said.
First Air, owned by Nunavik's Makivik Corp., will continue to operate a freight service between Winnipeg and Rankin Inlet, three times a week, using a Boeing 737 jet.
Canadian Ranger Mosesie Atagoyuk of Iqaluit shakes hands with Peter MacKay, the defence minister, during the launch of Operation Nanook in Iqaluit this past Tuesday. Hundreds of rangers, soldiers and government personnel fanned out across South Baffin this past week for the military’s annual sovereignty exercise. (PHOTO BY CHRIS WINDEYER)
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Bear management demands mutual respect: researcher
Inuit, scientists face "divide more political than scientific"
JANE GEORGE
Inuit and scientists need to develop more respect for each other and their differing views of the world, or they risk undermining Nunavut's polar bear co-management system, says a researcher who studied Nunavut's polar bear hunt for more than 30 years.
"Each side says: ‘I'm right, you're wrong' - it's not a matter of debate," George Wenzel of McGill University said in a telephone interview from Montreal.
Inuit and scientists also need an attitude change, he says. Inuit need to become less rigid about what their traditional knowledge says about polar bears and scientists need to become less rigid about their polar bear data.
"As one digs in deeper, the other one digs in because to give, you lose," Wenzel said.
Jonathan Kingwatsiak, left, and Christopher Etukkudluk, both 10, jump over part of an obstacle course at a community day held in Iqaluit by the Canadian Forces as part of Operation Nanook. Iqalummiut ate burgers, played ball hockey and saw the fly-past of an Aurora transport plane. (PHOTO BY CHRIS WINDEYER)
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