By Erin Gaffney
Postmaster, postmaster, bring me a letter . . .
So you think you have Canada's two-letter postal abbreviations down
pat? AB for Alberta, NF for Newfoundland, YT for Yukon, pretty straightforward, right? But
wait, what about Nunavut, Canada's new territory? If you guessed NT, you're correct.
Nunavut will have exactly the same postal abbreviation as the one used for the Northwest
Territories.
No worries though, says Cindy Daoust, a Canada Post communications
officer. That's because Nunavut's postal codes will be unique, just like everyone else's.
The Canadian postal code determines how mail is sorted and delivered. Each character of
the postal code has its own significance and signals such things as a province or
territory or urban or rural location.
Canada Post determines the two-letter postal abbreviations based on
what's logical and what's available, says Daoust, adding it tries to avoid duplicating
U.S. abbreviations. In Nunavut's case, Canada Post stayed away from copying NE used for
Nebraska or NV for Nevada. There's no word yet if there will be a postal abbreviation
change in the future for the Northwest Territories or Nunavut.
If you're in Nunavut be prepared to wait for your mail, as there's
no door-to-door mail delivery in the North. All correspondence must be picked up at the
post office. Mail is flown into all communities, so service can be delayed by bad weather
or missed planes, particularly in the smaller communities.
No trail for Nunavut
As of next year, you'll be able to walk, bike, ski, horseback ride
or snowmobile your way across Canada via the Trans Canada Trail. Well, almost all of
Canada.
Although the route for the longest recreational trail in the world
has yet to be finalized, it appears as though it will bypass Nunavut, at least on land.
There's a proposed wilderness canoe route that will go from Great Slave Lake to the Thelon
Game Sanctuary and on to Baker Lake, eventually ending up in Chesterfield Inlet, says Jim
Connor of the Canada Arctic Snowmobile Association.
A decision on the proposal won't be reached until later this year.
As of now, the proposed land route for the Northwest Territories
section of the trail will take you through the Territories from Ft. McMurray in northern
Alberta and continue west into the Yukon.
(Source: www.tctrail.ca/nwt.htm)
C'mon baby light Nunavut's fire
Twelve plus one? Plaques representing Canada's 10 provinces and two
territories surround Parliament Hill's Centennial flame. As of now, there are no plans to
include Nunavut. Historical monuments are normally left as is and are not usually altered
to reflect changing times, says Jim Davison, director general of real property services
for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Davison says maybe Nunavut will be honoured in
another way.
Oddities,
rarities and stuff about Nunavut
