IQALUIT - A territorial search and rescue society is being created to streamline procedures for conducting missing person searches.

The new society will ensure that all community search teams have received the same training, enabling joint ventures between communities to occur.

Ed Zebedee, director of Protection Services with the department of Community and Government Services, holds a satellite phone and flare kit that can be used if lost on the land. - Stephanie McDonald/NNSL photo

Currently, when a group or an individual is reported missing, a community's search and rescue committee is called together. The first step is to call the Emergency Measures Organization (EMO), whose offices are located in Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, and Cape Dorset.

The RCMP are then notified as well as department of Community and Government Services' Protection Services division in Iqaluit.

"A determination is usually made fairly quickly whether we need outside assistance ," said Ed Zebedee, director of Protection Services.

If outside assistance is deemed necessary, the Joint Search and Rescue Co-ordinator Centres are contacted. For emergencies on Baffin Island, a team from Halifax is called in and for the mainland a team from Trenton, Ont.

It usually takes an hour for the team to get organized and another five to six hours for them to fly to Nunavut, Zebedee said.

"The process of organizing a search and how we go about a search will be consistent between communities," Zebedee said. "It's a better system for us and it will hopefully replace the need for having as many southern involvements."

The cost of bringing in a Hercules helicopter from the south costs at least $100,000, Zebedee said.

"In a perfect world we would have search and rescue aircraft stationed in Nunavut," Zebedee said. "It will speed up our response time and it will allow us to train to that aircraft."

Zebedee has sent letters to each of the territory's mayors, asking for nominations to the society's board of directors. Community members will vote for two representatives from their region to sit on the board. There will also be a RCMP officer and a representative from both the government and military. Zebedee also hopes to have a member from the Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. He anticipates that the society will be operational by May 2008.

The Legislative Assembly has approved $500,000 in funding for the society. Zebedee estimates that 20 per cent of that will be set aside for training and conferences, with the remainder used on needs and priorities decided on by the board of directors.

Emergency response equipment Pangnirtung has a volunteer search committee of 11 people according to Lena Angnako, secretary of the town's search and rescue committee and assistant senior administrative officer in training.

"The search and rescue team here is very active," Angnako said. "They are very strong and know what they are doing."

Since Angnako became secretary in 2006, the committee has been called upon to conduct eight rescue missions, four requiring helicopters. All missions ended successfully.

For search and rescue operations the community owns two snowmobiles, four qamutiks, a radio, satellite phone, GPS, and emergency locater beacons. The committee also owns a shack where all the equipment is housed as well as a tent and sleeping bags in case an overnight search is warranted.

Angnako is in favour of the Nunavut Search and Rescue Society, saying it will provide training in such things as first aid to volunteer community members.