Harbours would bring jobs, economic benefits to communities

JOHN THOMPSON

When crews working for Qikiqtarjuaq’s Masiliit Corp. fish for turbot in the Davis Strait, they have nowhere to land their catch, other than Nuuk, Greenland, or St. John’s, Nfld.

But all that could change if the federal cabinet listens to a report drafted by a working committee from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which recommends building small harbours in seven Nunavut communities, including Qikiqtarjuaq.

The other six communities are Pangnirtung, Clyde River, Pond Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet, Repulse Bay and Kugaaruk. These communities were picked by the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Economic Development and Transportation as the most likely to derive the most benefit from harbours.

Even with a harbour, Masiliit would still need a freezer and other infrastructure before they could process and fly fish out from their home community to market.

But getting a harbour would be a big step towards building a true community fishery for Qikiqtarjuaq.

And that would give local employment a big boost. The report predicts that across the seven selected communities, unemployment would fall by 26 per cent – from 23 per cent to 17 per cent – if harbours were built.

That translates into an expected 198 jobs created, and a boost in Nunavut’s gross domestic product, or GDP, by $7.9 million.

And these predictions are considered conservative, the report says, because they don’t take into account unharvested shrimp, clams, scallops and other fish – which are expected to increase in yields by 10 to 20 per cent with harbours in place.

The report predicts a 60 tonne increase in the commercial char catch, up 100 per cent, as well as an 1,800 tonne turbot increase.

An additional 173 jobs would be created during construction of the seven harbours.

The report puts the cost of building the seven harbours at $40.4 million over five years, or $41.25 million over eight years.

That price comes from extensive cost analyses and comparisons, the report says, and includes a contingency for cost overruns. Engineering and environmental studies still need to be done.

So far, there’s no sign that the federal government plans to adopt the report’s proposals.

The report also recommends that the federal government pick up the cost of operating and maintaining the harbours, at $1.5 million annually. Minor repairs would be covered by the territory, or a non-profit harbour authority that would collect user fees.

Another economic spin-off from the proposed harbours would be increased tourism, which is expected to double, bringing in an additional $2 million annually – largely to scenic Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet.

And damage to boats is expected to decrease by $300,000 each year. Nearly 500 boats are believed to be in the seven communities, with the vast majority of them under eight metres in length.

Each harbour would consist of a breakwater, a fixed wharf equipped with a crane to offload cargo, and a series of floating wharves where smaller vessels could tie up.

These floating wharves could be expanded as the communities grow, and would be hauled up during freeze-up.

The report also calls for an entrance channel to be dredged for each harbour, to provide “all-tide” access for vessels less than 10 metres in size.

“At present, small vessels are often forced to hide out in coves for hours, and in some cases for days, until the storm passes. The alternative is to risk life and property to return to home port,” the report says.

“Even in good weather, vessels beached on rocky shorelines are often damaged by waves resulting in an average life expectancy of 3-5 years.”

Large fishing trawlers would have to wait until high tide to dock, while mid-sized vessels, between 11 to 15 metres, would have to wait until half tide or higher tide.

A deep basin would be dug beside the wharf, so that large vessels could remain berthed until high tide.

The report notes many other spin-offs from the proposed harbours, which, it says, will encourage greater entrepreneurship and more travel from community to community by boat.

The harbours would also make offloading cargo from summer sealifts more affordable.

And harbours would also lead to fewer deaths, the report says. It points to two recent deaths that could have been avoided: A Pond Inlet fisher drowned in 2002 while paddling his dinghy from shore to his fishing vessel moored offshore, and a Rankin Inlet fisher met a similar fate in 2005.

What’s more, with more jobs and wealth in the seven communities, governments would spend less on some of Nunavut’s big social problems, the report says.

“One must not forget the enhanced social and spiritual well-being of individuals, families and communities also produces measurable economic benefits over time through reductions in substance abuse, family violence, criminal activity, and economic dependence on the state,” the report says.

The report even makes the point that the harbours could bolster Canada’s claim to sovereignty in the Arctic.

“It can be argued that a visible national presence in Nunavut becomes more important as the impact of climate change on the North steadily lengthens periods of ice-free access to northern shipping channels and increasingly attracts world attention,” the report says.

Pangnirtung is presently the only one of the seven communities with a real wharf, although the wharf is only accessible to small vessels, and at half or higher tide.

The cost estimates and predications of economic spin-offs come from a report done for the federal working group by the Vancouver firm, GSGislason & Associates.

DFO currently operates over 1,000 harbours around the country. None are in Nunavut.