Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (July 16/01) - A three-year, $645,000 agreement between the territorial and the federal governments will create Nunavut's first Coast Guard auxiliary units, many drawn from existing volunteer search and rescue groups.

Alden Williams aboard his 27-foot aluminum boat, already called upon in marine SARs. Williams, who co-owns the vessel with his brother, now qualifies for subsidized boat insurance under a new agreement promoting Coast Guard auxiliaries throughout Nunavut. - Kirsten Murphy/NNSL photos

A new agreement between the territorial Department of Community Government and Transportation and the Canadian Coast Guard brings subsidized insurance for boat owners donating their vessels on an on-call basis.

Eric Doig, manager for Nunavut Emergency Management, called the partnership historical.

"In the past we would reimburse boat owners for their gas and that was it. If somebody banged their boat during a rescue, we didn't have special insurance policies to cover them. Now we can offer boat owners insurance and a reimbursement package," Doig said.

More money may mean more interest in boating safety -- a critical development given Nunavut's short but busy boating season.

Iqaluit became the first Nunavut community with a Coast Guard auxiliary last year. The unit now qualifies for funding, which is good news for Alden Williams, co-owner of one of the unit's two-boat fleet.

"It's all about public safety. You have a short time to save lives, whether a person has capsized or they can't respond because a radio is damaged or they don't have a radio," Williams said.

He said auxiliary support provides reactive and proactive marine safety.

"We have the ability to do courtesy boat checks and make sure people have the proper flotation, bail buckets, paddle, flares. We're making people aware of boat safety," Doig said.

When a person goes missing -- either on land or on the water -- Nunavut Emergency Services is called.

Last year Doig's office fielded 44 marine search-and-rescue calls. Auxiliary teams, once established, will help Doig and other emergency specialists respond to future marine crises.

When the money dries up in 2004, the Central and Arctic regional branch of the Canadian Coast Guard takes over the auxiliaries' operational costs.

New auxiliary recruits, meanwhile are welcome.

"We want people who are good on the water, good on the land, because they're out there when the conditions are cranky," Doig said.

Doig will spend much of the rest of July meeting with hamlet officials to determine who is interested. An operations officer, who is expected to start work later this month, takes over co-ordinating the program. Most auxiliaries won't be officially operational until next year.

Setting up the auxiliary units coincides with the introduction of Inuktitut-speaking coast guard dispatchers stationed in Iqaluit last month.

Doig said the goal is to promote boating safety and, if necessary, save lives. "Out in the water you just don't have a second chance. When your boat is floundering and you need assistance then that's what the auxiliary is for," he said.

A hefty marine safety training manual -- one taking more than a year to compile with input from emergency experts around the North -- is headed for the printer. The manual will be produced in English and Inuktitut.