Brodie Thomas
Northern News Services
Updated, Wednesday July 16, 2008

Paulatuk - Albert Ruben has worked all his life. The Paulatuk resident said he loves travelling out on the land to go hunting and fishing, but his job with the Paulatuk Community Corporation does not always allow for that to happen.

"For those of us that work, living off the land is not a way of life, it's time off work," said Ruben.

He said he doesn't get out as much as he would like, but having full time employment does have its own benefits like steady pay and greater independence.

Ruben was just one of 22 people who took part in a study into work and food patterns by research student Zoe Todd. She is working on her master's thesis in rural economies from the University of Alberta.

"We're looking at how different types of work affect how much time people have on the land, and how that in turn affects how much country food people have access to," said Todd.

Todd held 22 hour-long interviews with residents of Paulatuk and Inuvik. The interviews with aboriginal people both in and out of the work force.

Todd said that almost everyone she has spoken with has said they prefer traditional food to store-bought food. Almost everyone expressed a desire to spend more time on the land.

"Traditional foods are still highly valued. There's cultural importance to traditional foods but there's also economic importance. In Paulatuk, if you use the northern food basket measure from INAC it is the third most expensive community in the Canadian Arctic," she said.

As for balancing work and traditional life, she's found that part-time jobs offer the best of both worlds.

"It seems like the best kind of work (if you want to access country food) is flexible work. Part-time, seasonal, rotational. The kind of jobs where you have more time to go on the land," said Todd.

She has found that full time jobs do not always grant the flexibility to travel out at the best time to harvest.

"You can't always anticipate when the caribou are going to be there. Or the geese come and you can't necessarily book your two weeks off at that time," said Todd.

Todd's study is being done with the help of several community organizations such as the Inuvialuit Development Corporation, hunters and trappers committees in Inuvik and Paulatuk, and the Paulatuk Community Corporation.

Anne Thrasher, corporate manager of the Paulatuk Community Corporation said that Todd's work is going to be an important resource for the community. She also spoke highly of Todd's presence in the community.

"Students and researchers have come and gone from the community. Very often we have never heard back from them. Zoe Todd worked right at the grass roots with the people of the community and for the first time ever we received a summary of the report," said Thrasher.

Todd said she enjoyed her stay in Paulatuk. She said the people were both helpful and friendly. Todd hired Paulatuk Resident Bill Ruben as a research assistant while she was there.

She recently received more funding for her project and she plans to return to the North in the fall to continue her research. She hopes her study will help the people of Paulatuk and Inuvik as more employers set up shop in the Delta.

"There's no point in me coming in and doing a project if it doesn't have any benefits for the community," said Todd.