“A Great Investment in Our Communities”: Strengthening Nunavut’s Whole-of-Society Search and Rescue Capabilities

Abstract

Community-based organizations along with territorial, provincial, and federal agencies are responsible for search and rescue (SAR) in the Canadian Arctic. In delivering response capabilities at all hours of the day and for 365 days a year, the community-based organizations face a wide array of challenges. Using the data collected through the Kitikmeot Search and Rescue Project and the Kitikmeot Roundtable on SAR, coupled with academic and non-government organization literature, this article explores the major challenges facing community SAR organizations in Nunavut and builds a case for how targeted investment can best bolster community-based capabilities. We suggest novel, practical, and holistic solutions that have been proposed by or co-devised with community partners, are rooted in the unique context of Nunavut’s communities, and are reflective of a community resilience-building approach. One set of recommendations involves strengthening current programming, including the expansion of Nunavut Emergency Management’s inReach program, continued support for the enlargement of the CCGA, streamlining the process to activate Canadian Ranger patrols, and encouraging greater cooperation in the provision of training by federal and territorial agencies. We also propose new approaches, including a whole-of-society preventative SAR program centred on educational and youth programming, the adoption of a SAR equipment usage rate model, and the launch of a Community Public Safety Officer program in Nunavut. Finally, to justify greater investment at the community level, we argue that policymakers must change how they conceptualize community-based SAR capabilities in Nunavut. An effective SAR system is about more than the ability to respond to emergency events. It is a critical enabler to broader objectives and goals prioritized in the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework and other federal, territorial, and Inuit strategies.

Search and Rescue, Climate Change, and the Expansion of the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Inuit Nunangat / the Canadian Arctic

“…The capacity mapping and interviews conducted for the Kitikmeot SAR Project highlight the challenges faced by CCGA units and marine SAR operations in Inuit Nunangat / the Canadian North: an increasing case load (caused by a changing environment, the loss of land safety knowledge, and unpredictable outside activity); training gaps; equipment shortages; volunteer burnout; troublesome administrative requirements; difficulty coordinating, cooperating, and communicating across the community, territorial, federal levels; and slow response times from southern-based SAR assets (Kikkert et al, 2020a;2020b; see also Benoit, 2014;Østhagen, 2017;Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, 2019). Communities without a CCGA unit often struggled to find a suitable boat, crew members, and equipment to conduct safe marine SAR missions (P. Ikullaq, personal communication, October 2019).…”

“…These efforts are enhanced by unit leaders who ensure that members are always on standby, liaise with Coast Guard and JRCC personnel, direct operations, and can serve as on-scene coordinators. Auxiliary units reduce the reliance of their communities on CCG icebreakers, often situated hours or days away from the location of an incident, and RCAF fixed and rotary-wing aircraft based thousands of miles to the south (Kikkert et al, 2020b).…”

“…It also reinforced the value of community-level perspectives and local information on geography and environmental conditions in planning, preparing for, and executing an MRO. Auxiliary members highlighted a wide array of essential roles they might play during such operations: putting eyes on the situation; providing updates to the JRCC; on-scene coordination; providing information on where to evacuate passengers on the land; shepherding lifeboats or zodiacs to safe havens or the community; helping to offload and track passengers; searching for missing passengers; or establishing a camp to provide warmth and shelter to evacuees (Kikkert et al, 2020c). Auxiliary units want to be viewed as "force multipliers" in an MRO and desire the training, equipment, and guidance required to play these roles effectively.…”

“…Despite a concerted effort in the early 2000s to increase the number of Auxiliary units in the newlyformed territory of Nunavut, by 2015 only nine community-based units had been created North of 55, three of which struggled to remain operational. Communities without a dedicated marine SAR unit and/or vessel face challenges in finding the equipment and trained volunteers required to conduct searches, leading to slow response times, the use of unsafe vessels, volunteer burnout, and a reliance on Coast Guard icebreakers and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) aircraft located hours or days away (Kikkert et al, 2020b;Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, 2018). In fall 2015, the Coast Guard launched its multi-year Arctic Search and Rescue Project dedicated to identifying the marine risks facing the region's coastal communities and using this information to guide the strengthening of existing Auxiliary units and the establishment of new ones-the majority of which are located in Inuit Nunangat (the Inuit homeland in Canada) and comprised of Inuit members.…”

“…It brought together fifty-five community responders from the five Kitikmeot communities, academics, and representatives of federal and territorial departments and agencies to discuss best practices, lessons learned, and future requirements for search and rescue. While most of the roundtable focused on community-level searches, the culminating Mass Rescue Operation Tabletop Exercise involved a scenario with an adventure cruise ship running aground (Kikkert et al, 2020a(Kikkert et al, , 2020b(Kikkert et al, , 2020c. Throughout the interviews, workshops, and roundtable, members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary units in Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk, and Gjoa Haven, and the individuals involved in marine with the Arctic Search and Rescue project.…”