Radio silence: Nunavut hamlet’s transmitter offline since March

Radios in Kimmirut have picked up only dead air since March, when the community’s radio broadcast transmitter died. The hamlet office said it has sent the equipment to Iqaluit for repairs, and could not say how soon community radio and regional CBC broadcasts would resume. (PHOTO BY PETER VARGA)

Kimmirut has gone without community and CBC radio broadcasts since March, and South Baffin MLA David Joanasie says this has left many residents without an “essential service.”

Radio broadcasts give residents information about what is happening in the community and the territory, and without it, everyone except those with internet access are “left in the dark,” Joanasie said.

The hamlet’s senior administrative officer, David Alderdice, says efforts to repair the system have been in the works for at least four months.

Staffing changes, delays in shipping, transportation and payment, and lack of qualified staff have caused lengthy delays to repairs, he said.

“There’s been a real communication problem with it,” Alderdice told Nunatsiaq News Oct. 17. “Now that I’m involved, I’ll be able to get it fixed.”

Technicians in Iqaluit will repair the transmitter once parts arrive from Florida, Alderdice said, adding that he couldn’t predict when that would happen, or when the transmitter would eventually be reinstalled in Kimmirut.

The hamlet has far more urgent priorities to fulfill, particularly with winter coming, he said.

“Out of six trucks for water and sewer, they’ve only had two that are running for the last nine to 12 months,” he said.

The hamlet is missing three key staff members essential to keep the hamlet running, he said: a director of finance, a public works foreman, and an oil burner and building maintenance mechanic.

“There’s been a couple of important staff that have left since I’ve been here, for various reasons,” he said. “We’ve been replacing some positions to try to move ahead, to get going in a productive manner.”

Alderdice assured community members that radio broadcasts will get back online at some point.

Asked where the hamlet has placed the issue on its list or priorities, he replied that on a scale of one to 30, it’s “probably about 25.”

“I’m more concerned about getting all of the equipment up and running, and all the buildings with proper heat — and all the maintenance done on all the furnaces and the boilers,” he said.

Alderdice took on his position with the hamlet in June, he said, adding that he is the fourth SAO to work at the hamlet in just one year.

Joanasie, who represents residents of Cape Dorset and Kimmirut in Nunavut’s legislative assembly, said Kimmirut’s shortage of qualified staff, and its inability to do quick maintenance, is typical of Nunavut’s small communities.

“It goes to show how in a smaller community, the resources are hard to come by,” Joanasie told Nunatsiaq News.

Kimmirut has just under 500 residents. Cape Dorset, where the radio service is fine, has about 1,500.

The MLA maintained that radio broadcasts have long been an important service for the community. Residents without it have relied on the internet for their news, but not all have access to computers.

“We need to hear what’s happening from the outside world,” he said, adding that the community’s elder residents are suffering most from the loss.

“We’re keeping them in the dark, so to speak,” Joanasie said.

Alderdice said repairs to the transmission tower cost the hamlet $1,000.

CBC North transmits its radio broadcasts through the same equipment.