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POND INLET
It's a project that Pond Inlet has wanted for 30 years, and still the hamlet waits for the federal government to invest in a breakwater.

Economic Development and Transportation Minister Peter Taptuna visited the hamlet July 24 to see if the territorial government can help.

"We've got to get a breakwater up here," said acting senior administrative officer Colin Saunders. "We're still pushing the GN and the federal government for it. The feds were here last year trying to revise the design on what we wanted."

The design has been revised four times since it was first put into a presentable form in 2004, Saunders said. The push for real action came in the wake of Philip Issigaitok's death two years earlier as he tried to save his boat from inclement weather.

"He was in a small eight-foot plastic boat and trying to go from that boat to his boat," Saunders said. "He fell, hit his head and went into the water and drowned."

A safe harbour in Pond Inlet would require the construction of two breakwaters, a project that would cost the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans an estimated $40 million.

"Pond is a unique case for a breakwater because on one side you need protection from the silt buildup from the river, but our biggest waves come from the other direction," he said. "In a lot of communities, it's possible to build a breakwater with just one arm, but in Pond Inlet, we need two. When the tide and the winds are going against each other, we get some bad waves. They're bad enough that it makes trying to get your boat very difficult.

"Having boats inside the breakwaters would stop the waves. It's a safe harbour. It would save lives," said Saunders.

"At this time, there are just no funds to start the process," Taptuna said. "The money has to come from Ottawa. The government of Nunavut just doesn't have the funds to carry out such large infrastructure projects like that."

"The need is there, of course," he added, noting Pond Inlet is one of seven communities - Chesterfield Inlet, Clyde River, Kugaaruk, Pangnirtung, Qikiqtarjuaq, and Repulse Bay are the others - needing such infrastructure. "It's badly needed. On a safety side, it is critical that some of these communities get a breakwater or some kind of marine facilities to make boating safer for all."

And if the hamlet gets the funding, Saunders would like to see the government plan for the long term by funding a more ambitious vision that would include a sea lift staging and cruise ship docking area, allowing 60-metre boats to dock in the community. He said this would save sea lift companies a lot of money by avoiding in-sea transfers.

Taptuna's visit was solely to discuss the breakwater and the hamlet's wish for a jet strip. He met with hamlet council members, outfitters, residents, hunters and trappers organizations' representatives and Tununiq MLA Joe Enook.

"The community and the hamlet appreciate the minister taking the time out of his busy schedule to come to the community and hear our concerns, and we appreciate his efforts at furthering this endeavour," Saunders said.

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