Nunavik wrestles with rules for off-road vehicles

Kangiqsujuaq last summer, just before the village’s roads were paved. Now residents there want more local drivers to wear helmets. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

KANGIQSUJUAQ — Residents in one Nunavik village say they want to see more off-highway vehicle drivers wearing helmets.

But for the most part, Kangiqsujuamiut want drivers to be alert and show respect for others on the road and on the land.

The community took part in a public consultation on off-highway vehicles on April 19, part of a Quebec-wide effort to determine how rules should be enforced for snowmobiles and four-wheelers.

In Nunavik, the Kativik Regional Government is coordinating the Nunavik portion of the public consultations.

Kangiqsujuaq residents called into the local FM station on April 19 to share concerns about speeding and late-night joyriding — activities often practiced by young adolescents.

“In the summer, this issue comes to our council meetings all the time,” said mayor Mary Pilurtuut. “We’ve been talking about this for years, but this public consultation is another step.”

Many callers said that 16 should remain the minimum age for off-highway drivers, although Pilurtuut said that is not the reality in many Nunavik villages.

“I see a lot of (drivers) younger than 16 out on their ATVs,” Pilurtuut said. “But it’s never been enforced here, that would be very difficult to do.”

One Quebec study says 55 per cent of drivers involved in accidents are aged 29 or younger.

Enforcement of Quebec’s highway safety code remains a challenge in Nunavik, because of the climate, the remoteness of the villages and the way all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles are used in the region.

Even municipal bylaws have not been successful in curbing local driving infractions.

A former traffic bylaw enforced by the Northern Village was replaced by a “peace, order and good government” bylaw adopted by all Nunavik municipalities.

That bylaw prohibits several driving offences, placing limits on squealing tires and driving near people’s homes during certain hours.

But Pilurtuut says this more recent bylaw is unclear and difficult to enforce.

During the public consultation, most callers said helmets are important to a driver’s safety.

By Quebec law, all Nunavik snowmobile drivers and their passengers should be wearing them, although these are rarely seen.

That is made clear by the “hundreds” of severe trauma injuries Montreal trauma units see every year from Nunavik.

But like many items, helmets are expensive and hard to find in the region’s stores.

The KRG and Makivik Corp. say getting Nunavimmiut to wear helmets means Quebec laws should include modifying the wide use of off-highway vehicles in the region.

In Kangiqsujuaq, residents say that at least want to see helmets worn in town, particularly now, only a year after the community’s roads were paved, and that more of the region’s drivers should carry a license.

Territorial licenses, which can only be used in Nunavik, can be obtained by filling out a form at the local police station, Pilurtuut said, although no driving test is required.

But Kangiqsujuaq’s municipal employees who drive vehicles must carry a regular Quebec-wide license, she said.

In the coming weeks, the Northern Village’s council will prepare a list of recommendations to forward to the consultation on off-highway vehicles.

Nunavimmiut with questions or concerns on the use of off-highway vehicles can contact the public consultation’s project manager, Marie-Eve Marchand at mmarchand@krg.ca.

Consultations have been held in most Nunavik communities to date, with visits planned April 30 in Kuujjuaraapik, May 4 in Inukjuak, May 7 in Akulivik, May 10 in Ivujivik and sometime during May in Kuujjuaq.