November 30, 2012

International

Scottish MP pipes up with Arctic claim (November 29, 2011): Canada’s next Arctic rival: Scotland?!? The retreating sea ice and rising economic profile of the circumpolar world have, in recent years, stoked occasional tensions between Canada and fellow Arctic Ocean coastal states Russia and Denmark, underlined a long-running dispute with the U.S. over control of the Northwest Passage and fuelled concerns about China’s growing interest in the region. Now add Scotland, the United Kingdom’s northernmost realm, to the mix of Canada’s potential competitors — or partners — in the Arctic.

Focus on the Arctic (November 30, 2011): The Arctic Council has no doubts about the way Arctic affairs should be managed. There are no reasons whatsoever for brining NATO forces into the region. All of the council’s member states share this view. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke about that when he met his Icelandic counterpart Ossur Skarphedinsson on Tuesday. "It’s up to the Arctic Council, which includes Russia and Iceland, to decide how to administer the Arctic's affairs.

Working Together for Arctic Security  (November 29, 2011): Russia has long been skeptical of a NATO presence near any of its borders, and the Arctic is no exception. The melting Arctic sea ice is transforming the geopolitical significance of the Arctic region. At stake for the eight Arctic nations—Canada, Denmark via Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the United States—is access to marine passages and natural resources, which include an estimated 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered gas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Regional

Book of the year award goes to “The Qalupalik” (November 29, 2011): "Maximum impact" delivered, says "Quill and Quire" magazine The Qalupalik, a children’s book by Iqaluit author Elisha Kilabuk, has picked up a Book of the Year award from Quill and Quire. Quill and Quire, a Canadian magazine of book news and reviews, chose the Inuit legend as one of five children’s stories to receive the distinction. The award marks the first time that a book written by an Inuit author and published by a Nunavut-based publishing house has made the list.

Survey shows Nunavik Inuit missing out on jobs (November 29, 2011): More jobs — particularly in mining — require post-secondary education unavik Inuit are losing ground to non-Inuit when it comes to jobs, a new survey for the Kativik Regional Government shows. Inuit held 1,145 more full-time jobs in 2011 than they did in 1993. But the percentage of full-time jobs held by non-Inuit has grown.

Kimmirut's mayor missing since Saturday (November 29, 2011): Blizzard conditions temporarily halted the search for a missing hunter from Kimmirut, Nunavut, Tuesday morning. The community’s mayor, Jamesie Kootoo, went out to hunt caribou on Saturday and was supposed to return the same day. Sometime on Sunday, searchers were able to follow snowmobile tracks that they believe belong to Kootoo but they lost the trail because of fresh snow.

We’ll finish St. Jude’s in spite of shortfall, NCC says (November 29, 2011): Anglican committee gets credit from construction firm The fundraising committee for the construction project is still $2.5 million short of the $7 million they need to rebuild St. Jude’s cathedral. But the NCC Investment Group Inc. has committed to finishing work on the cathedral by May 2012.

Fracking never got environmental review, consultant says (November 29, 2011): An environmental consultant is worried the fracking already happening in the Northwest Territories hasn't been properly scrutinized. Paramount Resources has confirmed it is using a kind of fracking on its wells in the Cameron Hills just south of Kakisa, N.W.T. But the company says it's different from the hydraulic fracturing that has raised concerns in the United States and Canada.

Nunavik wants better Information on Plan Nord: KRG (November 30, 2011): In Nunavik, you don’t have to look hard to see Inuit feel left out of Plan Nord’s loop. That unease with respect to Plan Nord surfaced at the recent meeting on self-rule in Kuujjuaq, where delegates at the meeting backed away from supporting Premier Jean Charest’s grand development scheme for northern Quebec — unless it proceeds with the approval of Inuit in Nunavik.

Sessions study impact of new diamond mine in Canada's North (November 29, 2011): Sessions on the environmental impact of the Gahcho Kue diamond project at Kennady Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories are taking place this week in Yellowknife, the territorial capital. The De Beers project, located about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife, would be the territory's fourth diamond mine.

Engineer’s Report on Nain Church Complete (November 29, 2011): An engineer’s report on the Moravian Church in Nain has provided a better understanding of the extent of the facility’s instability. The Nain Heritage Committee met with the engineer who compiled the report last week. Fran Williams is the Chair of the committee. She says the report indicates that the majority of the church is solidly on the ground.

Statistics for George River Caribou Herd Decline (November 29, 2011): The population of the George River caribou herd has declined even further since last summer and is expected to continue to do so if adult mortality rates do not change. The Nunatsiavut government conducted public consultations on the herd this fall. Representatives of the provincial department of Environment and Conservation and the Torngat Secretariat were also present. Statistics on the continuing decline of the herd were provided during the consultations. It is estimated that the current population of the herd is in the low 50,000s.

The Bond Departs for the North Coast Following Mechanical Hold (November 29, 2011): The Sir Robert Bond has departed for the north coast after being on mechanical hold. A representative for the provincial Department of Transportation and Works says some mechanical problems were identified while the vessel travelled from St. John’s to Lewisporte.  The Bond recently came out of dry dock in St. John’s where it was receiving repairs.

Climate Change

UN's weather agency warns of rapidly-warming world (November 29, 2011): Despite the cooling effects of a La Nina event, 2011 is likely to end among the 10 hottest years on record, according to a World Meteorological Organization report released on the sidelines of climate talks in Durban.

Other

How Wikipedia can help preserve indigenous knowledge from Far North (November 29, 2011): I read in The Economist (Nov. 5-11) about a new project Wikipedia is undertaking to encourage greater production of articles in other countries by people within those countries. The company is partnering with three universities in Pune, India, offering course credit to students in exchange for their writing articles on a certain theme. So far, students have written on topics both large and small, from ideas in economics to obscure committee meetings on Indian monetary policy. The goal, as The Economist puts it, is to "encourage the indigenous creation of information and to lessen reliance on imports from outside."

Police ask for help in search for man missing from group home (November 29, 2011): Police are searching for a 46-year-old man who has the mental capacity of a 6-year-old after he went missing from his group home Tuesday evening. […] Darren is described as Inuit, about 130 pounds and five-foot-four. He has short, buzz-cut hair and is wearing glasses. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a red and black winter coat, a black toque and brown hiking boots with orange lace eyelets and brown laces.

Canadian Arctic fails to yield diamond boom (November 29, 2011): When huge diamond deposits were discovered in the Canadian Arctic in the early 1990s, geologists were optimistic there would be many more to come. It didn’t happen. Despite massive spending on exploration, no large mine has been discovered in the territories in almost 15 years, and the diamond boom never lived up to its initial promise.

No oil find for Cairn in Arctic (November 30, 2011): Edinburgh explorer Cairn Energy has failed to make a commercial discovery of oil or gas in its Greenland campaign. The Scottish group said that two wells which it hoped would yield oil were to be plugged and abandoned.

Thick ice thwarts fuel delivery to Alaskan village (November 29, 2011): The mega-storm that socked Western Alaska earlier this month prevented a barge filled with more than 1 million gallons of fuel from reaching Nome, a representative from petroleum distributor Delta Western said. The community of 3,598 people sits on Alaska's northwest coast. The big storm -- and others that followed -- delayed Delta Western's DBL 79 barge and its related tug one month.