The distance from Iqaluit, Nunavut, to Nuuk, the capital city of Greenland, is about 800 kilometres - but in terms of development, the two are a universe apart. Greenland is decades ahead of Canada's North when it comes to economic self-sufficiency, social and physical health indicators. It has taken steps in addressing its at-risk youth in ways Canadian leaders are still discussing.
CAPITAL RESOURCES
The suicide rate in 17,000-person Nuuk has declined steadily since 1980 - it's now about a third what it was 30 years ago - thanks in large part to social services, resources and infrastructure concentrated in the urban centre.
MEEQQAT INUUSUTTULLU PILLUGIT ILUSIMASAQARFIK
MIPI is a centre dedicated to studying and tracking the welfare of children and youth in Greenland. Founded in 2001 and funded by the Greenland government, its reports have sparked "massive debate" on child and youth poverty, says spokeswoman Lona Lynge. MIPI's 2008 Children's Standard of Living report documented the effects on children of families strained by poverty.
ILISIMATUSARFIK -UNIVERSITY OF GREENLAND
When Canadians talk of the importance of an Arctic university to foster local education and preserve Inuit culture, this is the school they hope to emulate: It has four departments, 150 students and a $3.1-million annual budget; it offers baccalaureates, master's degrees and PhD programs, and features courses taught in Danish and Greenlandic.
PORTS AND WHARFS
Greenland has extensive marine infrastructure in almost every major coastal community, supporting a burgeoning fishing industry, says University of British Columbia professor Michael Byers. Nunavut, by contrast, has no sizable harbours: Its fishing community is often forced to process their catch at sites in Greenland, which many argue robs jobs that could otherwise be sustained on Canada's Arctic coast.
POLITICAL DEVOLUTION
Greenland's government is far more independent than Canada's Northern territories - so much so that its population voted in a referendum in November, 2008, to devolve from Denmark, giving it partial independence - and more control over its gas, gold and diamond reserves - after 300 years of Danish rule.