As Scott W4PA observed, Canada's Northwest Territories will be divided
in two on 1 January 1999. The new eastern territory will be called Nunavut,
and its capital will be Iqaluit, formerly known as Frobisher Bay. The new
western territory has not yet decided what name to use, but Yellowknife will
remain the territorial capital.
Scott asked what the consequences will be for contesters. I suggest there
will be few differences. The two contests sponsored by the Radio Amateurs
of Canada (RAC) will add Nunavut as an additional multiplier in their
contests starting in 1999.
Those contests that use Canadian provinces and territories as multipliers,
such as the CQ 160m, CQ WW RTTY and ARRL 10m contest should all anticipate
the change, and be prepared to give new multiplier credits for QSOs with
Nunavut come 1999. ARRL Sweepstakes multipliers should not change, nor
should multipliers for the ARRL 160m contest, as both events use RAC
"sections" for multipliers in Canada, and the creation of Nunavut will have
no impact on the NWT/Yukon "section." The plain reality is that
the RAC field organisation does not operate "north of 60," and the
NWT/Yukon section is a harmless fiction that serves to make the SS more
challenging.
So far, I have seen no indication that the new territory will have a
separate prefix. Until further notice, you may anticipate that any VE8
you may hear from 1999 on could be in either territory.
On a related matter, I note that several contests, such as the CQ 160m
have provisions in their rules signifying Labrador (VO2) as a thirteenth
"province," dintinct from Newfoundland. In fact, Newfoundland and Labrador
form one province, Labrador being the mainland part, and Newfoundland being
the insular part. To consider the two as separate entities within Canada
would be as incorrect as describing the upper and lower peninsulas of
Michigan as separate US states. I don't think anyone is offended by this
misapprehension, and I don't think anyone is hurt by this logical lapse
in the rules, but there is a logical lapse all the same.
73,
Dave Goodwin VE2ZP/VE9CB
RAC HF Contest Manager
ve2zp@bbs.ve3jf.ampr.org
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