Nunavik still seeks changes to Quebec’s rules of the road

The KRG has launched a campaign called “on the right path” aimed at drivers of off-road vehicles. (FILE IMAGE)

KUUJJUAQ — Nunavik wants to see kids be legally able at 14 years old to drive snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles, both considered off-highway vehicles by Quebec.

However, in the rest of Quebec, you must be 16 to drive these vehicles.

And Quebec officials remain “reluctant” to amend those laws for Nunavik over safety concerns, Kativik Regional Government lawyer Catherine Pesant-Fortier, told regional councillors Dec. 1 at their meeting in Kuujjuaq.

Numbers cited at the same meeting show these concerns appear to be well-founded.

Research by a doctor from the Sherbrooke University Hospital shows all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles remain the top cause of injuries for youth in Nunavik.

From 2004 and 2009, 143 children were admitted to the Montreal Children’s Hospital for injuries.More than half of the collisions involving these children resulted in head trauma and fractures.

Other studies have shown inexperience, speed, and intoxication contribute to most collisions.

Talks have already started between Makivik Corp., the KRG, Quebec’s transport department and the provincial vehicle bureau, la Société d’Assurance automobile du Québec, to see how the rules for off-highway vehicles can be changed for Nunavik.

As it stands now, Quebec says no off-highway vehicles, such as ATVs and snowmobiles, are even permitted on public roads.

The KRG and Makivik have said the Quebec laws on highway safety and off-highway vehicles need to be amended to reflect the wide use of snowmobiles and ATVs on the region’s roads.

They have argued that this means all ATV and snowmobile drivers in Nunavik break the law, even if they are of age, wear helmets and respect speed limits.

If Nunavik residents are supposed follow laws developed for southern Quebec, then they they should have the same access to prevention and licensing services from the provincial vehicle bureau, the two organizations have said.

They also want Quebec’s no-fault insurance to apply to off-highway vehicle accidents in Nunavik.

The province’s automobile insurance act doesn’t cover accidents on public roads that involve ATVs or snowmobiles.

But one problem is that most owners of off-road vehicles in Nunavik don’t register them. And they don’t take out insurance on these unregistered vehicles.

Makivik and KRG have also suggested an exemption from the obligation of holding insurance for ATVs and snowmobiles.

For now, these off-road vehicles remain the main way of getting around in Nunavik — because there’s a widespread belief persists that the rules of the road can’t or shouldn’t be applied in the region, there’s little enforcement of any aspect of Quebec’s highway safety code or the off-highway vehicle act in Nunavik.

Kids in Nunavik usually start driving ATVs at eight and a half years. All they have to do is hop on and drive off, without first earning a “certificate of competence,” which is required in southern Quebec. Helmet use is rare.

To improve safety, the KRG has launched a campaign called “on the right path.”

Its logo, designed by Pirnoma Technologies Inc. of Ivujivik in co-operation with the communications firm BleuOutremer, shows two blue-hued, helmet-wearing drivers, one on an all-terrain vehicle, the other on a snowmobile, on a track that reads “on the right path,” in Inuttitut, English and French, to symbolize sharing the road in a safe way and wearing helmets.

At this week’s KRG meeting, councilors received fridge magnets and stickers showing that logo, part of a KRG-led regional campaign that will include a web site, posters, radio spots, leaflets, t-shirts and school presentations.