IQALUIT, NU –
Nunavut’s capital was able to avoid a water shortage crisis last week, but the territory’s MP says infrastructure in the North is an Arctic security issue.
Lori Idlout says federal investments in the North have often been insufficient to meet all the infrastructure needs of communities and that Ottawa tends to respond to emergencies rather than investing in long-term prevention.
“They always seem to forget how important Arctic sovereignty is when it comes to investing in the North,” said the NDP MP. “They need to do better for Arctic sovereignty, not just by providing military resources, but by actually investing in the people and resources needed to make a community work.”
Iqaluit and Nunavut both declared states of emergency in August to ensure the territorial capital would be able to replenish its reservoir, Lake Geraldine, before it froze over so residents could have enough water to spend the winter. The emergency ended early last week when the city got permission to start pumping water from the nearby unnamed lake.
It was not the first time that questions had been raised about whether the reservoir could meet the needs of Iqaluit’s population of over 7,700 people. A state of emergency was declared in 2019 to allow Iqaluit to pump water from the unnamed lake. It has also been filling the Apex River Reservoir since at least 2018.
The city made headlines when its water supply was contaminated with fuel in October 2021, forcing residents to fill containers with water from the Sylvia Grinnell River or turn to water in bottle flown in from southern Canada.
“I heard a certain level of frustration from the community,” Idlout said. “I think there’s a sense of hope knowing that the investments have been made, but hopefully it won’t take too long for the infrastructure to actually be updated and repaired so that the water available is always reliable.”
The federal government committed more than $214 million in April to support a new reservoir and upgrade Iqaluit’s water distribution system. The city said it expects the project to take four years to complete.
Kaylia Little, a doctoral student in the University of Waterloo’s School of Environment, Business and Development, said water shortages in Iqaluit are a “great example” of the growing water gap. infrastructure between northern and southern Canada. She has researched the link between Iqaluit’s water crisis and northern infrastructure for the Arctic Institute.
“If Ottawa doesn’t have water or if Toronto doesn’t have water, we’re going to hear about it all the time in the news and a solution will be found as quickly as possible,” she said.
“To put Iqaluit in the same frame of mind and understand the importance this has not only for local residents…but also what it means for somewhere where the government is based and what impact it could have on the territory .
Little said Nunavut’s drinking water infrastructure is well below national standards, noting that residents across the territory rely on trucked water.
The effects of climate change are increasing pressure on aging and limited infrastructure in Nunavut, she added.
The deficit of more than 500 million liters of water in Lake Geraldine this year was caused by a lack of precipitation and the flow of the Apex River being at its lowest in 40 years.
The city originally said it would take 40 days to pump needed water from the unnamed lake, but Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell said that time frame has now been reduced to 21 days due to additional rainfall.
Bell said the water shortage has far-reaching effects, as it means new homes cannot be built, making it difficult to attract new residents and fill vacancies.
However, he said council has approved a new subdivision that can begin construction as soon as the water issue is resolved.
Bell said the city’s longer-term plans include expanding Lake Geraldine and continuing to pump water from the unnamed lake in the summer.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 5, 2022.
– By Emily Blake in Yellowknife
This story was produced with the financial assistance of Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.