NUNAVUT
People ship vehicles up to the territory and they stay forever, and that's always just been the way.

Abandoned Government of Nunavut vehicles, like this truck in Gjoa Haven, litter communities across the territory, leaking environmentally damaging chemicals onto the land. -

They are visible by the hundreds, abandoned vehicles silently damaging the environment in every community. Summerhill, a non-profit organization focused on creating and delivering public initiatives that generate positive environmental and health impacts, wants to help change that.

The pilot projects, called Tundra Take-back, ran in Arviat and Gjoa Haven last summer.

Arviat's metal dump is about a half-kilometer long and a couple of hundred metres wide, said Steve England, Arviat's senior administrative officer.

"Every piece of metal that ever came into the community and at its end of life is now sitting in that area. I would imagine the first vehicles that ever came into this community are up there somewhere." Summerhill partnered with the hamlets, the Co-op and a few other companies like Nunavut Sealink and Supply Inc.

Skill development is an important aspect of the program. Aside from the monumental feat accomplished of removing 31 tonnes of wastes and recyclables from Arviat and Gjoa Haven, 10 community members were trained to handle hazardous waste and manage metal dumps.

England says eight sea cans of hazardous materials left Arviat, including everything from car batteries to tires to mercury switches that came out of cars, "which is very hazardous to the environment."

"That may not sound like a lot but it was the first time in this community that anything was ever shipped out," England said.

For Arviat, the pilot project demonstrated that it is possible to depollute the land and thanks to Summerhill, the community now has a template for how to do it. This coming summer they will segregate their metal waste.

"Right now it's a tangled mess of everything metal," said England.

And the community has targeted the summer of 2016 for funding in the hopes of resuming removal. But unless government steps up alongside a committed private sector, the project cannot spread through other communities.

Account manager with Summerhill, Janet Taylor, says they hoped to be operational in four Northern communities by August, but she is unsure about government support. About $120,000 in cash is needed to clean up one community. Environment Canada, which provided a $100,000 grant last summer, hasn't come forward yet. A pre-Christmas crowdfunding campaign had less than stellar results.

"We raised $33,395, most of which came through in large donations from industry supporters including Automotive Recyclers of Canada, Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation, Cargojet and Arctic Co-operatives. We did have a number of personal contributions, but most of them were from people affiliated with Summerhill. Either way, we are grateful," said Taylor.

The GN hasn't jumped on board, either.

"Essentially, we're having lots of interested conversations, but we're having trouble converting them to any real opportunities. Same at the federal level. We will be issuing letters to the ministers of Environment, Health and AANDC, to try and get ministerial level support. We'll see how that goes."

Taylor said Summerhill released its final report in early March, called Tundra Take-Back: Successful Recycling and Hazardous Waste Management in Northern and Remote Canada, which highlights a need to clean up toxic dumps that are prevalent across Canada's territories.

"The report identifies a range of policy, infrastructure and financing barriers limiting progress on dump cleanup. We've piloted successful solutions to overcome these barriers, so our focus is now on securing the resources needed to get as many of these sites remediated as possible."

With the great demand on government dollars in so many areas, such as education, housing and mental wellness, it's understandable purses are tight.

"But in a community the size of Arviat, it's becoming more of a concern," said England. "The community is growing quite quickly but transporting back south is still in its infancy."

The Hamlet of Arviat is working with the Department of Community and Government Services and will continue to work with Summerhill.

The Hamlet of Gjoa Haven is also in conversation with the territorial government, with hopes that further work on metal dumps can be incorporated into the Nunavut Solid Waste Strategy, said senior administrative officer Shawn Stuckey.

"The big thing they showed us is that, realistically, there is a way to get this stuff out," said England.

Stuckey agrees, and he says the hamlet also hopes to do more work this summer. He also hopes the Nunavut government will offer assistance.

As Taylor notes, "We need a plan and action to address this problem or it will only worsen as Northern development expands. Our report shows that Northern populations are set to grow by 30 per cent in the next 20 years, but we still don't have sustainable waste management systems in place. The time is now for addressing this problem."

England adds that everybody in the community was happy to see the metal waste finally being dealt with.

"Any community that has the opportunity to work with Summerhill, I strongly recommend they do," he said.

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