Offshore Drilling In The Arctic

A topic not far from anyone's mind these days is the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

• Hundreds of thousands of litres of oil are pouring into the water every day. The shoreline from Texas to Florida is either already damaged or threatened
• Wildlife has been impacted, and economies and the livelihoods of hard working everyday people have been brought to a halt.

Building upon the comments of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated I have written the Prime Minister clearly stating what Inuit expect to see with regard to off shore drilling in the Arctic:

1. An immediate pause or "time out" on drilling in the Beaufort Sea in order to take stock of environmental risks and necessary risk reduction and mitigation measures
2. A commitment that any future drilling proceed only on the basis of the best safeguards used internationally
3. The adoption of supplementary environmental protection measures to address unique Arctic vulnerabilities
4. Rejection of the December 2009 proposal to relax mandatory offshore drilling regulation in favour of developer generated undertakings
5. Ensuring that the timing and pace of Arctic oil and gas development balance two primary considerations -- improving the well being of Inuit and enhancing the energy security of Canadians -- while contributing to a larger Canadian and global strategy to reduce carbon emissions
6. Recognition that Inuit knowledge of unique and fragile conditions is vital to decision making on environmental protection and emergency response
7. Reconsideration of the adequacy of the Ship Source Oil Pollution Fund as set out in the Marine Liability Act, and
8. Action on the recommendations of the Arctic Council Marine Shipping Assessment 2009 Report

Our homeland simply cannot afford an oil spill. The Arctic environment is too fragile, and Inuit are dependent on it for both food and economic activity - let alone the unnecessary injury and killing animals, fish, and plants - before development takes place we must be sure that every possible step has been taken to ensure that neither a Deepwater Horizon, nor another Exxon Valdez, happens in our waters.

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