GN waffles on climate change

The Government of Nunavut continues to be all over the map when it comes to a position on climate change.

Environment Minister Patterk Netser rose in the legislature on Friday, June 9 to praise Sheila Watt-Cloutier, outgoing chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, who continues to win prestigious environmental awards for her climate change campaigns.

“Sheila is a tireless, dedicated advocate for the Arctic and the Inuit. In one of her recent speeches, she said an Inuk hunter out on the ice is a sentinel – a first line of defence and a warning about climate change,” Netser said.

“However, sometimes that sentinel, alone on the ice, needs help and a voice so the rest of the world can hear him. Sheila is that voice,” he said.

But this Monday Netser warned that if environmentalists are successful in classifying polar bears as an endangered species, this will hurt the sports hunt in Nunavut.

Watt-Cloutier herself takes the position that climate change threatens the existence of polar bears. Not Netser.

“Polar bears may be benefiting from climate change,” Netser said on Tuesday, addressing concerns raised by Hudson Bay MLA Peter Kattuk, who said he feared polar bears would move further north as the Arctic continues to experience record-breaking warm temperatures.

During last week’s leadership review, Iqaluit Centre MLA Hunter Tootoo said climate change could destroy a way of life enjoyed by Inuit for thousands of years.

“It’s something we can’t afford not to tackle head on,” he said on Friday.

But Rankin Inlet MLA Tagak Curley said he felt global warming might be a good thing.

“Some of us don’t mind if it gets a little bit warmer in some of the communities, because it’s pretty cold over here in the winter and it’s very hard to keep up with heating bills. And so, a few degrees warmer, it’s perfectly fine with some of us,” he said on Friday. “There are quite a number of people I think who have that same view.”

“There is also wildlife like seals and walrus that enjoy the sunshine,” he added.