January 27, 2012

National

Inuit to Harper: Meet With Us Too (January 26, 2012): Now that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has met with First Nations leaders, the Inuit are putting in their bid for a similar encounter. “We want our own Inuit-specific meeting to focus on Inuit and Arctic issues,” Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, told the Nunatsiaq News. “We need to talk about some of the critical issues facing Inuit today.”

Move air force’s search-and-rescue base for better performance, report says (January 26, 2012): The military’s response to search-and-rescue calls could be improved by moving aircraft out of Canada’s largest East Coast base, according the air force’s most recent performance analysis. But the study finds little reason for a dedicated Arctic rescue team, despite high-profile disasters last year that led to renewed calls for a more robust northern presence. The report, obtained by the Star under the Access to Information Act, proposes moving two Hercules more than 600 kilometres north from their Nova Scotia home to Stephenville, N.L.

Regional

New Makivik president’s first “whirlwind” week on the job (January 26, 2012): Jobie Tukkiapik spent the evening of Jan. 19 in his Kuujjuaq home with family, friends and a “hunch” that he might get elected. His hunch turned out to be right; Tukkiapik beat out three other candidates to take over as president of Makivik Corp. that night, in what was a tight race with the organization’s long-time — and now former — president Pita Aatami.

Kuujjuaq residents don’t want road link to south yet (January 26, 2012): The people of Kuujjuaq, Que., are telling Transport Quebec they're not ready to accept a ground transportation link with the South. Transport officials presented a pre- feasibility study at a town hall meeting in the Nunavik community last night. The Quebec Government is looking to build a railway or a road to service the growing mining activity in the region. But at the meeting, speaker after speaker voiced concern about negative impacts the road could bring.

One in three people in territories say they were a crime victim: 2009 survey (January 26, 2012): Statistics Canada says a 2009 survey shows that one in three residents of the northern territories over the age of 15 reported being a victim of crime at least once in the previous year. It says 46 per cent of the 38,000 self-reported crime incidents were violent, with assault being the most common.

Harper Government Supports the 2012 Arctic Winter Games Cultural Festival (January 26, 2012): Participants and spectators at the 2012 Arctic Winter Games can discover and celebrate the diverse culture of the North, thanks to an investment from the Government of Canada. This was announced today by Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament (Yukon), on behalf of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. Funding will support the 2012 Arctic Winter Games Cultural Festival, a celebration of Northern culture featuring artists from Canada and other countries in the circumpolar region. The Festival, which is taking place from March 4 to 10, 2012, will include daily performances and concerts, workshops, visual arts exhibits, and an interactive digital performing art project.

Hall Beach search warrant turns up marijuana, cash (January 26, 2012): RCMP arrested a Hall Beach man this week after local police seized marijuana, cash and other drug paraphernalia from a residence in the community Jan. 24. Hall Beach resident Philip Siakuluk has been charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Don’t hang around here anymore: Iqaluit mulls anti-loitering bylaw (January 26, 2012): “The primary concern seems to be the individuals selling drugs” Iqaluit City Council has asked the city’s chief bylaw officer, Kevin Sloboda, to draft a bylaw aimed at deterring persistent loitering in front of store entrances and other places, following a discussion Jan. 24. “Any new law enacted has to be sensitive to the underlying social conditions that have contributed to the problem in the first place,” Sloboda said. “It is not just as simple as adopting a new law, putting it through, and waiting to see what happens.”

N.W.T. health centres on alert for scarlet fever (January 26, 2012): All health centres in the N.W.T. have been alerted to an outbreak of bacteria that can cause scarlet fever. Group A streptococcus also causes strep throat. Wanda White, manager for N.W.T.’s Health Protection Unit, says strep throat is common at this time of year. "If it’s left untreated, it releases a toxin and it’s the toxin that goes throughout the body that causes that red, kind of sandpaper rash that you can see, like almost a sunburn but it feels rough,” she said.

Ice Conditions Preventing Connection of Hopedale by Groomed Trail (January 26, 2012): Broken sea ice and open water are preventing the community of Hopedale from being connected to the Labrador winter trail system. A representative for the provincial Labrador Affairs branch says the situation was assessed earlier this week. Broken sea ice and open water were found a long way into the bays earlier at that time.

Name Chosen for Nain Multipurpose Centre (January 26, 2012): A name has been chosen for the future Multipurpose Centre in Nain. The facility will be known as the Jeremias Sillett Memorial Centre. Sillett was a well-respected Chief Elder and Head Chapel Servant in the community. He passed away in 1998.

Mary Edmunds Ford: Fur Trade Wife (January 26, 2012): Mary Edmunds grew up in isolation at Whale River in Ungava Bay, the daughter of Job Edmunds, the Hudson’s Bay Co. post manager, and his wife Clara. Her grandfather, William Edmunds, had come from Scotland in the early to mid 1800s and set about the precarious life of a settler on the Labrador coast. He took an Inuk wife with whom he raised a large family. In the peculiar ethnic milieu of Labrador at the time, the family identified as “settlers,” the name given to the white men who lived on the coast as hunters and fishermen. William Edmunds was certainly a settler and his children inherited the designation, despite their mixed heritage.

@PaulMooreCBC (January 26, 2012): Nunavut justice minister re: c-10 "It will pass ... we have to work with the federal government to deal with the consequences"

@Neville_C (January 26, 2012): GN biologist says caribou hunt on Southampton Island "unsustainable." Herd could be wiped out in 3-years. Blame Facebook?

@CBCNunavut (January 27, 2012): Massive declines in the Southampton caribou herd. Find out how Facebook is making it worse. Marius Tungilik reports…

@CBCNunavut (January 27, 2012): A Winnipeg zoo has prepared a new polar bear centre, where they hope to be able to raise orphaned cubs.

@CBCNunavut (January 27, 2012): Belgian police launch major investigation into whether Catholic church protected known pedophiles... including Eric DeJaeger.

@CBCNunavut (January 27, 2012): Iqaluit's hospital has opened a same day clinic for people who need to see a doctor right away. Pilot project only, for now.

Other

Oil majors announce Arctic spill preparedness and response collaboration (January 26, 2012): With Arctic frontiers opening to development but oil-spill infrastructure limited in many regions, some of the world's biggest oil companies are joining forces in a multi-million-dollar effort to improvement preparedness and response, according to Upstream Online. In the wake of fears that a nearly impossible-to-clean oil spill in sea ice would devastate fragile ecosystems, companies such as BP, Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell are pitching in $2.4 million each to do such things as develop spill-response technology, conduct controlled oil-release tests and improve response capability in case of an accident, the article notes.

How to Build an Igloo (January 26, 2012): In an effort to promote a new DVD compilation, NFB's Mediatheque offers free Inuit-themed screenings, and something more hands-on. It is perhaps as easy as building an igloo has ever been: pre-cut styrofoam blocks, some small enough to be picked up with just one hand, numbered for convenience of assembly, and the structure half-finished in advance. Projected onto a nearby wall—presumably for support—is the National Film Board’s 1949 movie How to Build an Igloo. “Easy to build, once you know how,” the film’s director and narrator, Doug Wilkinson, says with confidence.