December 1, 2011

Regional

Arctic search and rescue to get volunteer boost (December 1, 2011): The military has struck a handshake deal to have part-time volunteers provide first response search and rescue services in the Arctic, CBC News has learned. Military officials have been negotiating with the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASRA), a national agency that promotes aviation safety and provides air search support.

Inuit sleds being built for Arctic sovereignty patrols (November 30, 2011): The future of Arctic sovereignty will be riding on traditional Inuit wooden sleds that are being assembled by a group of Canadian Rangers in Yellowknife. The nine Rangers have been tasked with building more than 30 qamutiks — sleds that are traditionally used to haul supplies over snow and ice — for use in guarding remote northern regions and promoting Canada's claim of sovereignty over the Arctic.

Search continues for missing Kimmirut mayor (November 30, 2011): Aerial spotters have joined the search for the missing mayor of Kimmirut, Nunavut, who has not been seen or heard from since a weekend hunting expedition. Jamesie Kootoo left for a caribou hunt on Saturday and was due to return the same day.

Arctic development: Canadian Inuit to get hundreds of millions in royalties (November 30, 2011): Inuit in Canada's eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut expect to receive hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade after passing a resolution to charge a new royalty on Arctic resources. The group that administers the Nunavut land claim, Nunavut Tunngavik, says it will start collecting the 12 percent royalty on April 1, 2013.

Low flu vaccination rate puzzles Nunavut officials (November 30, 2011): Nunavut's chief medical health officer says she is disappointed by how few people have received their free flu shot this year, despite the fact that the department is now offering the vaccine as a nasal spray for children. Dr. Geraldine Osborne says only 10 per cent of the population has been vaccinated so far, and few parents and guardians have brought their young children to receive their annual influenza vaccination.

“This honour means so much to me,” says Rev. Mike Gardener (November 30, 2011): One of the first Order of Nunavut medals goes to retired Anglican minister Iqaluit’s Rev. Mike Gardener became the first Nunavummiut to be presented with the Order of Nunavut Nov. 29. Gardener, his wife Margaret, family and a number of friends and dignitaries filled the legislative assembly chamber Nov. 29 to see him receive the territory’s newest and highest honour from Commissioner Edna Elias.

Nunavik Nickel mine hits another stumbling block (November 30, 2011): Goldbrook rejects Chinese partner's buy-out offer The strained relationship between Goldbrook Ventures and Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Co., Ltd., majority owner of the Canadian Royalties’ Nunavik Nickel mine project in Nunavik, took another turn Nov. 30 when Goldbrook advised its shareholders not to accept a buy-out from the Chinese company.

Young woman honoured as N.W.T top youth trapper (November 30, 2011): The Northwest Territories government is recognizing the region's best trappers — and, for the first time, a young woman has secured the top prize in the youth category. Marilyn Maring of Inuvik received the Youth Trapper N.W.T. Award for being the most productive trapper under the age of 30. That is an unprecedented achievement, according to spokesperson Alayna Ward.

Gary Mitchell Narrowly Claims the Most Votes in ULM By-Election (November 30, 2011): Gary Mitchell has been declared the winner of Tuesday’s Nunatsiavut government by-election in Upper Lake Melville. Mitchell managed to gather the most votes with 238 ballots cast in his favour. Roy Blake followed close behind with 230 votes. That slim margin of 8 votes means that Blake is able to call a recount.

Fuel Tank Installation Program is On Track (November 30, 2011): The provincial government is confident that the government assistance program will be completed before the new year. Nick McGrath is the Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs. He says the new contractor, Nunatsiavut Supplies Ltd., has already begun installing the new fuel tanks in Hopedale. Installations are set to begin in the other communities in the near future.

Families Moving Into Their New Homes (November 30, 2011): Families in several Nunatsiavut communities are settling nicely into their new homes. William Lucy is the Coordinator for the Torngat Regional Housing Association. He says families in Hopedale and Makkovik are now occupying their new houses. Four families in Nain may be joining them very soon.

Best Year Ever for Nain’s Annual Moravian Church Sale (November 30, 2011): More money was raised through this year’s annual church sale in Nain than ever before. Margie Ford is one of the church’s committee members. She says nearly $5000 was raised through last weekend’s church sale. That’s more than any other year.

Another natural gas well in Inuvik, Canada too costly, critics say (November 30, 2011): Current reserves due to dry up in two years Drilling a new well to supply natural gas for the energy-hungry town of Inuvik in Canada's Northwest Territories may be too financially risky, say companies, noting that the existing Ikhil well was not viewed as worth the cost. The Ikhil Joint Ventures well cost $50 million to build, but it reserves are already running low, though it's only about halfway into a 20-year contract.

KRG wants health board to adopt a “zero-tolerance” for drinking by pregnant women (December 1, 2011): Women in Nunavik should not drink when they are pregnant. That’s the clear position of counsellors at the Kativik Regional Government. “Pregnant women shouldn’t drink at all,” said Siasi Smiler, the regional counsellor for Inukjuak, reacting Nov. 30 to a presentation by public health director Dr. Serge Déry at the KRG meeting in Kuujjuaq.

Nunavut power workers up the ante: 89 per cent say yes to a strike (December 1, 2011): Negotiators await mediation in April 2012 About 180 unionized workers at the Qulliq Energy Corp. find themselves in a legal strike position this week, after 89 per cent voted yes in principle to a work stoppage. But this doesn’t mean they’ll hit the picket lines any time soon, Doug Workman, the president of the Nunavut Employees Union, said Nov. 30.

Nunavut poverty summit produces “a shared approach to poverty reduction:” Aariak (December 1, 2011): But Makimaniq action plan isn't public yet Nunavut’s first territory-wide poverty summit wrapped up in Iqaluit Nov. 30, delivering a vision to cut poverty with the help of all Nunavummiut. The Poverty Reduction Action Plan produced by the summit is still a few weeks away from release, although the plan has a name – Makimaniq, Inuktitut for “empowerment.” “We’ve agreed on a shared approach to poverty reduction —  a unique Nunavut approach,” said Premier Eva Aariak. “We want to return to self-reliance as a guiding principle.”

Climate Change

Thawing permafrost could speed global warming, researchers warn (November 30, 2011): An international team is warning that permafrost — which covers almost half of Canada — could release climate warming gases more quickly than expected. There is “cause for serious concern,” say the scientists, who underscore “the urgent need to reduce atmospheric emissions from fossil-fuel use and deforestation” to help “keep permafrost carbon frozen in the ground.”

Inupiat Community Sues Companies Over Ravages of Climate Change (December 1, 2011): In 2006, the Army Corps of Engineers delivered a report that contained shocking news for the Inupiat community living in the arctic city of Kivalina: Pack up and move. Kivalina sits on a barrier island 70 miles north of the Arctic Circle and has depended on seasonal freezing of the surrounding waters for protection from erosion and storms. As reported by The Guardian, the community’s lawyers addressed an appeals panel in San Francisco and painted a picture of a desperate situation. “Due to global warming, this landfast sea ice forms later in the year, attaches to the coast later, breaks up earlier, and is less extensive and thinner,” said the lawyers. “Houses and buildings are in imminent danger of falling into the sea. Critical infrastructure is threatened with permanent destruction.”

WMO: 2011 Set to Become the Warmest Year during a Cooling la Niña (November 30, 2011): Based on the first ten months of this year, 2011 is on track to become the tenth warmest year since record keeping began in 1850 — and the warmest ever during a cooling, La Niña event — according to yesterday’s Provisional Statement on the Status of the Global Climate from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.

Other

Speaker explains Ottawa's Arctic policies (November 30, 2011): Guests and members at the annual banquet of the St. Thomas Field Naturalists had their eyes opened by speaker Rick Kiriluk. A wildlife fish biologist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Burlington, he spoke about fish species at risk in the Arctic.

Hudson Bay boy tells of life in the Arctic (November 30, 2011): HE WAS only 20 years old when he left Dumfries for a new life in the Canadian Arctic. Farm worker Donald Mearns is now 51 and in an emotional programme to be screened on BBC2 Scotland tonight at 9pm, he’ll reveal the triumph and tragedy that rocked his life after moving to the ends of the Earth.

Greenland woe puts pressure on Cairn Energy (December 1, 2011): CAIRN Energy disappointed the City after the company said it had completed the second year of its controversial $1 billion (£640 million) drilling campaign off Greenland without making a commercial find so far.