September 28, 2011

International

Russia moves to bolster Arctic military presence (September 28, 2011): Just days after Gen. Walt Natynczyk, Canada's chief of defence staff, left Moscow after meeting his counterpart last weekend, a Russian official announced that the country would be increasing its Arctic military presence, a move that could increase tensions in the resource-rich area. Anton Vasilev, a special ambassador for Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was quoted this week by the Interfax news agency as saying his country would be beefing up its presence in the Arctic, and that NATO was not welcome there.

Russia eyes Arctic -- What about D.C.? (September 28, 2011): Russia's leaders called an Arctic neighborhood meeting last week to make one thing clear: They see opportunities posed by global demand for Arctic resources, receding sea ice, and the North's strategic location. They're ready to pounce. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, chair of the Russian Geographical Society, summoned a bevy of Arctic hands to Arkhangelsk to tell us this: • Russia intends to make the Northern Sea Route, which passes Alaska's front door, as important to global shipping and commerce as the Suez Canal. Major tanker loads of oil products, gas condensate and mineral ores have come our way already.

More ships take shortcut via less icy Arctic (September 28, 2011): Danish shipping company Nordic Bulk Carriers said it has saved a third of the cost and nearly half the time in shipping goods to China by taking advantage of receding Arctic ice to sail north of Russia instead of via the Suez Canal. As the climate warms up and ice melts, many shipping companies are eyeing the Northern Sea Route as a way to cut voyage times and costs in the future.

National

Commission deals with sad legacy of Indian Residential Schools (September 28, 2011): A commission dealing with one of Canada's greatest national shames held a meeting at Queen's Park on Wednesday. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is dealing with the legacy of the notorious Indian Residential Schools.  From 1870 into the 1990s, more than 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were torn from their families and placed in boarding schools where they were subjected to widespread abuse.  Wednesday's session was part of an ongoing process of bearing witness to the mistreatment in a search for healing.

Money for education set aside for former residential school students (September 28, 2011): Common Experience Payment recipients may receive up to $3,000 If you’re a former Inuit residential school student who was eligible for a Common Experience Payment, you might also qualify for up to $3,000 in education subsidies out of the program’s multi-millions in leftover funds. The deadline to apply for the CEP program, part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement for former Inuit or First Nations residential school students, fell on Sept. 19. The original amount designated for the CEP fund was $1.9 billion. As of Sept. 12, the balance in the fund stood at more than $306 million.

How should Canada deal with poverty? (September 28, 2011): A new report suggests that it would cost taxpayers less to eliminate poverty than allow it to persist. Canadians already spend roughly $25 billion on the direct and indirect costs of poverty, and more on reactionary measures - like temporary shelters and emergency medical care - than preventative measures, like affordable housing and income supplements, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Council of Welfare. "The old saying that "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure" applies to solving poverty as much as anything else," stated the authors.

Regional

Conservative crime bill could overwhelm Nunavut jails (September 28, 2011): Justice minister says territory's jails already overcrowded The Nunavut government is making a plan to deal with an expected jump in the number of prisoners. Last week, the federal government introduced the Safe Streets and Communities Act. The act’s goal is to get tough on drugs and sex crimes, with harsher sentences. The bill also seeks to raise minimum sentences for some crimes, and it also allows for some violent young offenders to be sentenced as adults and allows for the lifting of the publication ban on their names in some cases. But in Nunavut, there’s no room in the jailhouse.

Rankin Inlet to send recycling south (September 28, 2011): People in Rankin Inlet are ready to ship out 17 containers full of cans and bottles to a southern recycling facility. The hamlet has been collecting the recyclables for years, but could not afford to transport them. Now more than three million cans and bottles are slated to leave the community this fall with the help of Arctic Co-operatives.

Fred Schell named Nunavut's new cabinet minister (September 28, 2011): South Baffin MLA Fred Schell is Nunavut's newest cabinet minister following a secret ballot Wednesday morning at the legislative assembly in Iqaluit. MLAs had nominated Schell and Nattilik MLA Jeannie Ugyuk as candidates for the seat vacated by Hunter Tootoo earlier this year, when he resigned from cabinet to take the Speaker's position.

Quebec moves on fourth park for Nunavik (September 28, 2011): Public hearings on "le parc national des Monts-Pyramides" slated for November People in Nunavik will soon have a chance to say what they think about the region’s fourth provincial park, “le parc national des Monts-Pyramides.” Quebec’s department of sustainable development, environment and parks announced last week that it will hold public hearings on the park in Kuujjuaq, Kangiqsualujjuaq and Kawawachikamach, the three communities closest to the proposed park, from Nov. 21 to 25.

Patty Pottle Shares Her Platform (September 28, 2011): Candidates in the upcoming provincial election are busy on the campaign trail. We’ll be bringing you platforms of each of the candidates in the Torngat Mountains and Upper Lake Melville Districts between now and Election Day. The incumbent MHA for the Torngat Mountains district and Current Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Patty Pottle, is seeking re-election.

RCMP Make Three Drug Busts in Two Communities in a Week (September 28, 2011): RCMP in Northern Labrador have made three separate drug busts in two communities in a week. Hopedale RCMP executed a search warrant in the community last Wednesday. A 24-year-old woman was arrested after RCMP found a quantity of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Canadian Inuit debate polar bear quota (september 28, 2011): Hunters in Canada's predominantly Inuit regions of Nunavut and Nunavik have reached a tentative agreement on a fair number of polar bears to kill every year from the southern Hudson Bay population. Environment Canada representatives proposed a quota of 60 bears per year from the total population at a meeting in Inukjuak, Quebec, last week. Now, Nunavik representatives have two weeks to consult with hunters before agreeing to a quota.

Pangnirtung bust yields weed, cash, spirits (September 28, 2011): A Sept. 27 bust by members of RCMP detachment in Pangnirtung netted many pre-packaged bags of marijuana and nearly $3,000. At about 5:30 p.m. police went to a residence in Pangnirtung where they arrested three people who now face a variety of drug and alcohol-related charges, a Sept. 28 news release from the RCMP said.

Training, luck guided Resolute Bay air disaster response: military (September 28, 2011): Major Steve Wright was ready to bite into a “juicy hamburger” on Aug. 20, his first since arriving in Resolute Bay for this past August’s Operation Nanook, when, looking out the windows of the dining hall at the Polar Continental Shelf Program’s residence, he saw the camp’s firetrucks speed by. Maj. Wright dropped his hamburger, headed down to Op Nanook’s operations room — a nearly windowless room crammed of maps, telephones and desks for various branches of the Canadian Armed Forces involved in Op Nanook.

Climate Change

Nunavut loses ancient ice shelves to warmer temps (September 28, 2011): "They won’t come back" Canadian ice shelves are changing at an unexpected rate, say two Ottawa researchers. Over the past six years, they’ve seen nearly half of these ancient ice shelves break off. This summer saw the near-complete loss of the Serson ice shelf, as well as the splitting of the Ward Hunt ice shelf, the largest of the remaining ice shelves that have clung to Ellesmere Island for 3,000 to 5,000 years and contain the oldest sea ice in the northern hemisphere.

Ice shelves in Canadian Arctic break up at record speed (September 28th, 2011): Canadian researchers who have reviewed satellite imagery say ice shelves along Ellesmere Island in Canada's far north have lost almost half their area since just 2005. They say more open water and warmer weather are the contributing factors, the CBC reports. The ice loss equals about 3 billion tonnes, or about 500 times the mass of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Fields of extensive methane outbursts found in Arctic region (September 28, 2011): Russian and American scientists have discovered new fields of intensive methane outbursts in the eastern part of the Arctic region. Some scientists believe that these outbursts may provoke stronger greenhouse effect.  The participants of an international expedition have fixed hundreds of torches-fountains of outgoing gas. This only a small part of what is hidden in permafrost, scientists say. On the bottom of the ocean methane is stored in hydrates - solid units, which began to fail at higher temperature emitting gas.

Other

Doc looks at sled dogs disappearance (September 29, 2011): The Ottawa Art Gallery will screen the documentary Qimmit: A Clash of Two Truths at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 5. The film looks at the impact of the disappearance of sled dogs from the Inuit way of life after the people were moved into settled communities. It follows James Igloliorte of the Qikiqtani Truth Commission, who spent a year hearing testimony from nearly 300 people about what happened. Admission is free.