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Voices from the bay

Pending hydro development in Hudson Bay prompts second meeting with the Government of Nunavut

Zach Novalinga, a member of Sanikiluaq’s environmental committee.

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(PHOTO BY KIRSTEN MURPHY)

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KIRSTEN MURPHY

Ambitious plans to build hydroelectric dams in Nunavik have rekindled Sanikiluaq’s interest in protecting and monitoring Hudson Bay.

Residents in Nunavut’s most southern community are worried that Hudson Bay, which surrounds the Belcher Islands, faces environmental damage and destruction by proposed hydroelectric dams — dams slated to be built on rivers flowing into the bay.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the hamlet’s environmental committee is broadening its horizons after an eight-year lull.

The committee has been relatively quiet since 1994 — its energy and resources exhausted after fighting the Great Whale project. But ever since May 2002, when Premier Paul Okalik made his first visit to Sanikiluaq to hear community concerns, the committee has been meeting more regularly.

Now, the committee is pushing to get the Government of Nunavut onside. The five-person group wants to form a working group with GN and Inuit organizations like Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.

"We want to know what kind of condition the bay will be in if all these development activities continue. Not just now, but 10 to 15 years down the road," said Zach Novalinga, environmental committee member.

Novalinga co-edited the book Voices on the Bay with Lucassie Arragutainaq and Miriam Fleming.

Novalinga’s concerns were raised at a meeting Oct. 7 and 8 in Sanikiluaq. The meeting was attended by a representative from the GN’s departments of sustainable development, external and inter-governmental affairs and community government and transportation, and Sanikiluaq MLA Peter Kattuk.

One of the group’s first goals is to establish a monitoring program. Another goal is to hire someone to decipher and explain the agreements.

"It’s not just us that will be affected. It’s all of the communities in the Hudson Bay," Novalinga said.

Hydroelectric projects were written into recent economic development agreements between the province of Quebec and Northern Quebec Inuit and Cree.

One such deal is the Paix des Braves agreement signed between the James Bay Cree and the Quebec government in February 2002. If all goes as planned, the Rupert River will be diverted into the Eastmain River to provide electricity to southern Quebec.

The other deal is an economic and community partnership agreement between Makivik Corporation, the Kativik Regional Government and the Quebec government in May 2002. The agreement states its purpose is to "accelerate hydroelectric, mining and tourism potential in Nunavik."

That deal names at least eight Nunavik rivers as being suitable for hydroelectric development. A $3-million feasibility study has been ordered as part of the agreement. The study will examine the technical and economical reality of building a hydro-powered transmission line linking Nunavik’s 14 communities.

As with the Great Whale movement, Sanikiluaq residents are concerned about bird migration patterns, water-current flows and contaminated water.

The concerns represent old problems with a new twist, Novalinga said.

"The magnitude of these projects is much, much bigger," he said.

"Voices from the Bay" is a compilation of traditional ecological knowledge of Inuit and Cree in the Hudson Bay region. It is the only publication dealing with the changes Hudson Bay hunters and residents have noticed over the years. The book began as a response to the proposed Great Whale project.

The book raised three key questions: What changes are occurring in the environment as a result of increased human activity in the bay? How are the impacts of large-scale resource extraction affecting the natural order? And what are the long-term implications for the people and fauna of the region who depend upon the natural resources for their food and livelihood?

Those questions still need answering, said Miriam Fleming, an environmental committee member.

"We still haven’t had those questions answered," Fleming said. "Our concerns now are based on "Voices from the Bay" and what we learned from those [contributors]."

Earlier this month, Makivik signed an agreement-in-principle with Ottawa aimed at settling its offshore claim with the federal government.

Residents emphasized they’re not opposed to the agreements — many of which promise economic development to Cree and Inuit of Northern Quebec.

"We clearly need help. We’re just an environmental committee," said Brian Fleming, Sanikiluaq’s senior administrative officer.

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. representatives are scheduled to meet with committee members on Nov. 18.

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