Inuit Sound the Alarm in Ottawa Over Escalating Arctic Climate Crisis

“Inuit are one of the last hunting cultures on earth and we are seeing the destruction of our way of life. Thunder storms in winter, robins in the summer and ice that freezes later and later every year.” said Peter Irniq, Inuit Elder and former commissioner for Nunavut. “We have come all this way to sound the alarm.”

The latest monitoring shows Arctic sea ice is at its lowest extent recorded; an area of sea ice the size of Lake Superior melts and does not reform every year, raising sea levels, further warming the arctic, and eroding essential habitat for arctic species including seals, walrus and polar bears. Once ‘permanent’ permafrost is thawing, compromising town sites and critical forest and tundra habitat. Unpredictable weather makes travelling on the land treacherous for Inuit people and compromises their traditional activities. Canada’s arctic region has warmed faster than any other part of the planet, averaging 2 – 4 degrees C above pre-Industrial average, and the evidence of real and growing danger from climate change is mounting and undeniable.

“Nowhere on earth is global warming hitting harder and faster than the Arctic. Arctic wildlife and people are on the front line of global warming, the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, and it is not a pretty picture” said Julia Langer, Director of Global Threats, WWF-Canada. “What further motivation could the Prime Minister and this Government need to take immediate, tangible, enforceable action to dramatically reduce fossil fuel pollution?”

Jerry Arqviq, who is an Inuit hunter, has seen first hand the impacts of climate change in his community of Gjoa Haven in the North, “When I went out on the land in the past I never worried about being stranded by the weather, but now I have to think about that and prepare to stay longer with extra heating fuel, food and gas because the weather changes so suddenly. In the past the Elders used to go far out on the open ocean without motor driven boats. This was possible because they had long periods of calm, stable weather. These days you can’t go a full day without changes in the wind and the weather.”