Nunavut needs better ports, bigger voice

SENATOR BILL ROMPKEY

I thank the many northerners who last week welcomed the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. We appreciate the great hospitality we experienced and the thoughtful views that we heard.

Our committee is studying Coast Guard and fisheries issues in the Arctic. We visited Arctic Bay, Nanisivik, Resolute, Pond Inlet, Qikiqtarjuaq, Pangnirtung, and Iqaluit. Through skilled interpreters, we were able to work in English, French, and Inuktitut.

We heard one subject mentioned above all others: the crying need for better ports and harbours.

In southern provinces, practically every coastal port has wharves and breakwaters where it's safe to tie up and unload fish or other goods. Across Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans maintains nearly 1,000 small craft harbours.

In Nunavut, it has none. (There's one partial exception: a harbour promised for Pangnirtung in three years' time.)

Decent wharves are a key requirement for fishery growth. And we were told that better wharves could also lower food costs, improve safety, and enhance tourism and the economy generally.

All Canadians are proud of the beautiful Arctic. They know that the Inuit, and those who have joined them, anchor our claim to that vast expanse. Your coastal communities in a sense provide the infrastructure of our northern sovereignty.

So can't this rich country in turn provide proper port infrastructure for more of your coastal communities? I expect my committee colleagues will make this a strong recommendation.

I suspect they will also support a higher share of adjacent fish resources. While southern provinces get most of the fish off their shores, Nunavut gets less than half of nearby quotas. Nunavummiut say that this is unfair, and I believe the members of our committee agree.

The Coast Guard, under DFO, breaks ice, aids sealift and shipping in general, provides buoys and other aids to navigation, runs marine communications services, and carries out pollution prevention and search and rescue work. As Canada's most visible presence in northern waters, it manifests our northern sovereignty.

As the ice gets thinner and oil exploration rises, shipping will increase. The Coast Guard and its aging fleet of icebreakers will face new challenges. It is not at all clear that the government has adequate plans in place.

In particular, Canada's reporting and monitoring requirements for foreign shipping need attention. On the east and west coast, there are mandatory traffic-control systems, for environmental protection and security in general. In the Arctic, there is none, and I expect our committee will be making appropriate recommendations.

Cruise ships are becoming more numerous. Sometimes a community that would in principle welcome more tourists fears the ships' effect on marine life. If a shipping route interferes with a whale birthing area, a new route or other solution must be found. Elders and others had insightful comments on such matters.

Our committee came to listen, and we heard views on too many matters to summarize in this space. We will reflect them in our report.

Inuit showed legendary ingenuity to survive the challenges of the north over thousands of years. Today, new elements are crowding in. In Resolute, for example, I saw a polar-bear skin hanging under a satellite dish.

Inuit will need continued adaptability and resilience as the world changes around them. What they also need is to have their voice heard.

Our committee found optimism about our common future as Canadians. But over and over, we were told that local people must help to shape the policies and programs affecting their lives.

I hope our report will aid in that effort, and again I thank all those who helped us.

William Rompkey, a Liberal, is Senator for Labrador and Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.