Maria Canton
Northern News Services

Qikiqtarjuag (Apr 03/00) - When four Qikiqtarjuaq clam divers were issued a WCB stop work order last month, questions were raised about availability of commercial dive training in Nunavut and culturally appropriate regulations.

The divers were harvesting clams from under the ice and selling them to the business arm of the local Hunters and Trappers Organization. The Workers' Compensation Board was alerted to the operation, and flew to the community. An inspector determined the divers were not commercially trained, and issued the stop work order.

"Commercial and occupational diving involves dangers over and above those experienced by recreational divers," said JoAnne Deneron, chair of the WCB.

"The WCB's main concern is the safety of the divers, we are concerned about the medical, training and dive-supervisor responsibility aspects of commercial diving."

However, a local dive instructor says this incident raises questions about the commercial diving regulations in Nunavut.

Glenn Williams, who trained and certified the four Qikiqtarjuaq divers in the basics of open water diving, says the current regulations are neither culturally appropriate nor specific to the clam harvesting being done in Nunavut.

"The current regulations are prohibitive to divers in Nunavut," said Williams.

"Basically my concern is that unilingual Inuit probably won't be able to meet the commercial diving components. The regulations aren't practical for harvest diving."

Williams says the highest densities of clams are found at depths of six to 12 metres. He says the hazardous depths are 18 metres or lower, but the divers are simply not going to those depths.

"The divers I am familiar with aren't going down more than 40 feet (12 metres) and if you are at that depth on a single tank it's almost impossible to get bent," he said, referring to a painful condition that results when divers surface too quickly.

Presently, commercial diving certification can only be obtained in southern Canada. The courses range from eight weeks to a year in length and involve extensive work in physics and algebra. Williams adds unilingual divers would also have to pay for translation services.

The WCB, which continues to operate out of Yellowknife, has agreed to meet with Williams and others to further discussions on the issue.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to talk with them, to see if there's a willingness to address the issue and see if we can find a compromise on the standards," said Williams.

"But I think the WCB sees it as an opportunity to explain to us what the standards are."

According to WCB records, only one trained and certified commercial diver lives in Nunavut.