Letter | Nunavik’s ailing infrastructure needs innovative solutions
Family doctor suggests ideas such as grey-water recycling to alleviate strain on resources
Puvirnituq has been under a boil water advisory for more than nine weeks, as the break of a water pipeline has led to a water crisis in the community. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

Dr. Arnaud Messier-Maynard
I’m writing this letter from my room in the Kangirsuk co-op hotel. Caught in a blizzard at the end of May, just as spring is showing its face in the south.
For the past few days, I’ve been closely following the water crisis in the community of Puvirnituq. You’ll understand that the climate and living conditions in Nunavik are nothing like in the rest of la belle province.
Unfortunately, it seems that Nunavik’s infrastructure and housing stock have never really been adapted to northern realities. Like most, I heard the stories of the matchbox houses.
Nonetheless it seems like the colonial architecture mindset is still strong. Nearly 70 years later, housing and access to water in Canada’s North are still major issues, contributing to numerous problems such as tuberculosis and domestic violence.
Nunavik’s housing, built with materials and labour imported from the south, is struggling to meet the demands of its growing population. Even today, this infrastructure seems to be built without taking into account the limits imposed by the territory’s resources.
How is it that in these communities, where water and sewage is managed by truck, people still flush several litres of drinking water every day? Why are we unable to recycle grey water, recover water from snow or even compost human waste?
These kinds of innovative solutions would take the pressure off a water delivery system that’s always lagging behind the communities’ needs.
For example, a grey-water recovery pilot project has already been studied in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. The current situation in Nunavik offers us a window on what the future holds when municipal infrastructures are not adapted to repeated climatic shocks, directly affecting the health of the population.
Fortunately, innovation on these fundamental issues is possible. The most recent Innavik hydroelectric project in the community of Inukjuak shows us that it is possible to work with local players to meet the needs of northern villages while respecting the autonomy and needs of the Inuit.
In a few weeks’ time, the snow should melt and spring will arrive in Puvirnituq too. We will finally be able to repair the frozen pipe that’s preventing the water supply from working properly.
This acute crisis will no longer make the headlines, but the underlying problem will remain the same: Nunavik’s municipal infrastructure is inadequate, if not non-existent.
Solutions exist to improve the quality of life of Nunavimmiut, and let’s hope that local, provincial and federal authorities will work together in that direction.
Arnaud Messier-Maynard is a family doctor who has been visiting Nunavik since 2020 and living in Kuujjuaq since 2022.
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Yes doctor, nice of you to speak out about the water issue in Puvirnituq, water being a vital necessity of life. Now why dont you speak out about the drink that’s killing people faster than water is sub staining them. It’s the almighty drink that they can’t handle making your job hell, and not allowing them to look after their vital water.
The Doctor makes some very valid points, its not like others have not voiced it before, as far as the DRINK you speak of …. I think that decision sits with the Board Members at the top of the Local Food Chain, its up to them to see and address the Pro`s n Con`s of Alcohol and its effects on the communities. Clean water should be a Right for all and lets not talk about the Road conditions, our roads are making the ones in Montreal look like Shangri La the way they are so bad, don`t be surprised to see a Sink Hole up here soon. Its time to act!!
Wow, your comment says it all. Doctor makes valid points. Sure the doctor makes valid points, no one said he’s not. It shouldn’t have to take a doctor to make a point like that, where’s the intellectuals around Nunavik, living there forever, having to have the doctor make the point? Where are they? Top of the food chain you refer to is more like bottom of the waste basket. The booze and destruction are putting everything of inuit value into shambles. Top of the food chain my waste basket.
Read again what you wrote: interesting that the doctor has validated the woes and solutions of the water issue, not withstanding and even by intellectual default, he surely understands the alcohol issue; but you toss that aspect out to the board of some kind to deal with the alcohol problem, and embrace drinking water situation, as no alcohol connection. You’re making the denial problem of alcohol destruction to show shining colours by your attempt at a pretence solution to death and destruction in Puvirnituq.
Way to go Good Stuff. Instead of blaming everyone else in the world, including the over-blamed colonizers (gahaha) , you’ve hit the nail on the head. Instead of passing the buck to the outsiders, you’ve identified the true cause of northern apathy. People’s alcoholism is the square root of nothing getting done. But then they’ll just point their finger towards the colonialists for bringing booze in just as a way of not accepting responsibility for their own doing.
Remember people, the evil colonizers brought you the tech to type away on wifi and bitch about everything before driving to the store in your truck and then bringing back all that nicely prepared food to your heated house to cook on your electric stove while watching tv. Grow up!
Me auditing the situation, here’s the report : too much alcohol consumed by too many drinkers who respond to it’s effects by going crazy and can’t control it, without real consequences to the drinker who doesn’t understand the situation, never ever. Secondly too many unmotivated workers not able to keep nunavik functioning day to day. Up all night drinking and partying, , sleep during daytime Too many untreated mentally ill individuals all in one of two hundred square feet, in jealous conflict with each other. Not enough educated in the sand small square footage. No proper intervention to bad behaviour.
Self government will fix that
Yes we all aware of the self government. Solutions in waiting. They’re going put tariffs on everything they export to the south.