Maria Canton
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 08/99) - Ray Richer remembers all too well what it was like in 1996 when the sealift couldn't make it to Grise Fiord.

As manager of the local co-op, Richer, along with everyone else in the community, was left with no choice but to fly in a year's worth of supplies at astronomical prices.

"Since that year I always start to monitor the weather at the beginning of August and call the Coast Guard to make sure everything is OK," said Richer.

"This year, on Aug. 23, we had a little snow and I started to get concerned that maybe (the sealift) would be too late to make it in."

But sure enough, the mighty vessel sailed into the bay on Aug. 30, taking only 12 hours to unload the cargo that will supply Nunavut's most northerly community for another year of life.

"This year I beefed up on some products like flour and sugar because they're so costly to fly in if we run out. I also ordered extra snowmachines because we ran pretty low on them last year," said Richer.

After unloading her cargo, which included the yearly supply of fuels and oils, the ship began to travel the thousands of miles back to the Port of Montreal.

Similarly, Iqaluit's 20th and final sealift of the year, and the millennium, recently made the 5152-kilometre, six-day trip back to Montreal after unloading the capital's last shipment of cargo -- which included food, vehicles, furniture and construction supplies.

"Up until the year before last we only had three sailings into Iqaluit a season with a maximum of four," said John Perry, traffic manager for the Canadian Coast Guard, who contributed to 11 of the 20 sailings into Frobisher Bay.

"We started service two weeks earlier this year because last year we had a lot of shutouts and scheduling problems with tonnage and vessels."

The problems originated in Iqaluit's unprecedented growth, resulting in an enormous amount of construction materials being shipped via sealift.

However, Perry, whose organization awarded a three-year government resupply contract to Nunavut Ocean Transport last spring, says while the number of sailings increased this year, the tonnage of cargo decreased between 10 and 15 per cent.

"We had an increase in service, but not every ship was full. We can't expect growth to continue at 100 per cent, otherwise there would be no land left," he said.

Other companies supplying the Eastern Arctic with sealift service also increased services to feed the growth of Nunavut.

Suzanne Paquin, vice-president of Iqaluit-based Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping, brought five ships into the territorial capital. She said her company doubled the amount of cargo carried into Nunavut as compared to last year.

"We carried about 65,000 cubic metres of cargo this season," she said.

"The bulk of it was construction materials, vehicles and store merchandise."

Paquin's company, which was formed by the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, Sakku Investments Corp., Transport Nanuk and Makivik, also services the communities, including Polaris mine.

"We deliver foods and hazardous materials to the mine. The mix changes every year, it just depends on the projects that are being worked on," she said.

And now, as the waters lining Nunavut's coastal communities freeze solid for another winter, all are secure with a year-long supply of fuel and foodstuffs.

"Before the boat got here on Sept. 14, our shelves were pretty bare," said Teddy Carter, manager of Gjoa Haven's co-op.

"But now we have all of our fuel and gas and merchandise for the next year."