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NNSL Photo/graphic

The HMCS Fredericton glides past an iceburg in Pond Inlet during its Northern Tour last fall. The Canadian government has plans to increase navy patrols in the Northwest Passage, something one Inuit leader doesn't mind seeing. - photo courtesy of John Newton

Inuit want more Canadian control

Chris Windeyer
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (July 17/06) - Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic is key to ensuring shipping through the Northwest Passage doesn't harm Inuit, the president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. told the Inuit Circumpolar Conference at its meeting in Barrow, Alaska, last week.
Forces to flex Arctic muscle

Canada's armed forces are planning a show of force in the Northwest Passage next month.

Personnel from the Canadian Forces, the Coast Guard, RCMP, Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Government of Canada will take part in exercises in and around Iqaluit and Pond Inlet in mid-August.

"With approximately 400 personnel participating, it will be the largest exercise in memory by the Canadian Forces north of the Arctic Circle," said navy Lieut. David Connelly of Joint Task Force North.

Connelly said the operation will help government agencies work together during emergencies and demonstrate Canadian sovereignty in the eastern Arctic.

But it's not all work: the forces will also hold community events in both Iqaluit and Pond Inlet.

The Iqaluit events are scheduled for Aug. 12 and 13 and feature a parade, Inuit games, displays and a fun run of the Canada Winter Games torch.


With shipping through Arctic waters likely to increase as polar ice melts thanks to climate change, Paul Kaludjak said Inuit must get in on the ground floor to take advantage of economic opportunities and protect their traditional way of life.

"Arctic shipping will increase," Kaludjak said. "Our aim is not to prevent this, but to make sure that it takes place under Canadian rules, and these rules respect our traditional relationships to land and sea and ice-covered areas."

Kaludjak said the rise of Arctic shipping also presents opportunities for economic development for Inuit.

"There is more to this than flying the flag."

But at least one hunter is urging caution.

Harry Alookie, manager of the hunters and trappers association in Qikiqtarjuaq, is concerned Nunavut communities won't have the means to respond to accidents and oil spills that could happen when trans-Arctic shipping becomes a reality.

He also worries shipping will disrupt the habitat of animals locals hunt, forcing them to travel farther for narwhal, harp seals, polar bears and walrus.

"They really should start protecting (habitat), otherwise there might be some very destructive issues involved," Alookie said.

And while he acknowledges the possibility for economic benefits for Qikiqtarjuaq by providing services to passing ships, Alookie said governments should consult Nunavummiut before the shipping begins.

The federal government already has plans to expand its military presence in the North by training more Canadian Rangers, building a naval base in Iqaluit and monitoring uninhabited areas with unmanned spy planes and underwater sensors.

Lawson Brigham, a U.S. government research who has conducted climate research for the Arctic Council, told the conference the Arctic could be free of sea ice by 2050, if not sooner.

"(And) if greenhouse gas emissions (linked to climate change) continue as they are today it is plausible the Arctic Ocean could be ice free by 2040," he said.

An year-round shipping lane through the Arctic would cut thousands of kilometres off traffic between Europe and Asia that now travels through the Panama canal, said Innuteq Holm Olsen, Greenland's deputy minister of foreign affairs.

Brigham said the Arctic Council is planning to dispatch teams to do just that.