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Survey gathers opinions from neighbours of proposed highway
James Gordon speaks to cabin owners on Husky Lakes
as part of Aurora College research projectKatherine Hudson Northern News Services Published Thursday, March 22, 2012
Gordon, who is in his second and final year of the environment and resources technology program at Aurora College, is currently going through data of surveys and interviews from 29 of the 39 cabin owners of Husky Lakes – close to the proposed route of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway – which, barring any glitches, should have construction underway next winter. Gordon got the co-ordinates of the cabins, the proposed highway and the bypass route, and ordered maps to be drawn up. The survey was sent to all cabin owners that are in the Husky Lakes area, with the objective of the project being to develop baseline information of cabin stakeholders, which may be used in the planning and development processes for the highway. Gordon then spent January and February interviewing those who agreed, and collecting his surveys from the cabin owners to compile the data. The survey consisted of five questions: when is the camp or cabin occupied during the year, what is the camp/cabin used for (hunting, fishing, recreation or other), what types of animals are harvested at the camp/cabin, what is the history of the camp/cabin location (newly-established or handed down from parents or grandparents) and how do you think the proposed Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk all-weather highway will affect your camp/cabin? "It's the area. It's all hunting and caribou and fishing in that area and it's very traditional and we've never had anything like that imposed on our lands before. It's going to be a major development in that area," said Gordon. The nearest cabin to the highway is 0.5 kilometres away while the farthest is about 22 km away. Of the 29 cabin owners, nine are from Inuvik and the remaining 20 are from Tuktoyaktuk. The Department of Transportation has held information sessions in Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk explaining the project, the route, the environmental assessments necessary and the timeline. Gordon said some elders who live in the cabins were not able to attend the meetings and were surprised by the maps showing the proximity of the proposed road to their cabin. "I think I got some people thinking about showing up to the next meetings in Tuk and saying 'Maybe I should be going, being more informed … You're going to build a highway two kilometres from my cabin, I should have a say about that,' and that's what I was after – raising awareness," said Gordon. "I want to let people be aware that it's coming and it's going to be built in the proximity of Husky Lakes and it's a great time to have a look at the road being built … Giving them a visual, that really changed their perspective." Gordon said he acquired a variety of answers – with many being positive, others negative – but he is now in the middle of sifting through the data and preparing graphs for his final presentation at the end of April, which is open to his class and the public. He said after the road is completed, he would be interested in going back and talking to the cabin owners again, gauging their thoughts on the after effects of the road. Gordon's instructor, Alice Graham, said Gordon has received a lot of feedback from both Aurora Research Institute about his proposal and survey as well as the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation about finding research grants. "The way that he went about the research project was well thought out," she said. "They were really happy with the survey and James's research licence application and how professional he was going through the procedure." For Gordon, this year-and-a-half journey through his first research project has been an eye-opener, and has definitely paved the way for future research endeavours.
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