Government of Canada Invests in Leading-Edge Technology to Improve On-Ice Transportation Safety and Data Collection of Sea Ice Conditions in Inuit Nunangat

GATINEAU, QC, Nov. 4, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - The Government of Canada recognizes the importance that traveling on ice has for many people across the North for accessing country foods, visiting with neighbouring communities, and continuing cultural activities. Climate change is rapidly impacting the predictability and safety of this mode of transportation.

Today, the Honourable Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs and the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard announced a total investment of $671,751 in SmartICE technology to improve travel safety on ice in communities within Inuit Nunangat and continue important work on gathering real-time data on ice conditions.

Together, the three projects funded through this investment aim to address this challenge using SmartICE technology as unpredictable ice conditions pose safety risks to hunters and harvesters and continue to threaten Inuit traditional way of life and food security. The SmartICE system offers users, in particular hunters, trappers, fishers, and truckers, a simple device, similar to a Global Positioning System (GPS), to access invaluable data-driven insights into sea-ice thickness and local ice conditions, in near real-time.

The first project will continue sea-ice monitoring in Nain, Pond Inlet, Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay, Arviat, North West River, and Kugluktuk. Collected data and associated information is being disseminated to ensure travel safety and to inform climate change adaptations. The second project will carry on with mobilizing and make available Inuit sea-ice knowledge posters and maps in Pond Inlet as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to increase sea-ice travel. Elders and experienced sea-ice users in the community shared their knowledge to create these educational products on how to travel safely on the ice.

Both projects are conducted under Inuit management and in collaboration with local communities, using both science and Inuit Qaujimajatugangit (traditional knowledge). They also benefit local youth, who receive training and contribute to the safety of their communities by becoming involved in the operations of the SmartICE system.

The third project is funded under the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program of the Oceans Protection Plan and will build on a previous SmartICE two-year baseline project. Trained hunters identified through the Amaruq Hunters and Trappers Association will operate SmartQAMUTIK systems that will gather real-time data on ice conditions around community trails and areas of resource and infrastructure development in the Iqaluit area. Additionally, four SmartBUOYs will be shipped and deployed in the Iqaluit area to provide supplementary information about ice thickness. The data collected from this project will help improve understanding of the marine ecosystems and inform decisions that impact sensitive coastal environments. The project also aims to increase public awareness of sea ice monitoring and conditions through public outreach and engagement.

SmartICE is an internationally recognized, work integration social enterprise (WISE) that empowers Indigenous communities to adapt to increasingly unpredictable ice conditions. It is the world's first climate change adaptation to integrate Indigenous knowledge of ice safety and travel with community-operated ice monitoring technology and Earth observation satellite imagery. As a social innovator, SmartICE has developed significant experience in delivering holistic, culturally contextualized training and employs young Indigenous women and men as producers, operators and technicians of its technology.

Quotes

"The Government of Canada's goal with this investment in SmartICE is to help northerners, Inuit in particular, acquire, manage and use this innovative technology to safely travel on the ice and, ultimately, improve their quality of life. Travelling on ice across the North is becoming increasingly dangerous in an environment impacted by climate change. Going about their daily activities can be extremely hard or even impossible at times  with unpredictable ice conditions making planning difficult and putting food security in jeopardy. I want to congratulate all those working on this important project for their dedication to their communities and keeping people safe."

The Honourable Daniel Vandal, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Northern Affairs

"Our Arctic coastline is rapidly changing. Increased ice melt is directly impacting travel and food security of Northern communities. The Coastal Environmental Baseline funding announced today means that SmartICE and trained hunters can continue to monitor sea ice and ensure northerners are aware of the conditions. When we can better detect the changes in our marine environment over time, we can have greater stability and access to our northern communities."

The Honourable Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

"These projects are a good example of the Government-Inuit partnerships that are necessary as we move towards reconciliation in our country. SmartICE technology is based on both Inuit traditional knowledge and science, which highlights the spirit that governments and industry need to integrate to build positive relationships with Inuit. Another very important element is the fact that these projects will be managed locally by Inuit and will involve young people who will acquire the skills and knowledge to make important contributions to the well-being of their communities. This is truly beautiful and inspiring. It is the kind of respect and support that Inuit have been longing for much too long. The investments announced today are the kind of concrete actions that make me proud to be part of this Government!"

Yvonne Jones, Member of Parliament for Labrador
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern Affairs

"I sincerely thank the Government of Canada for this timely support of SmartICE services in communities, just when they were most needed. As the Covid-19 pandemic struck this past spring, and northern communities were encouraged to go on the ice to harvest country food, SmartICE continued to monitor ice conditions for their safe travel. We could do this because SmartICE placed into the hands of communities the technology and training they needed to monitor their own ice travel routes; especially as ice conditions are becoming more unpredictable with changing climate. SmartICE also helps Elders and experienced sea-ice users document and share their sea-ice knowledge. The posters and maps created in Pond Inlet represent new ways and formats for intergenerational knowledge transfer to help young Inuit stay safe on the ice in uncertain times."

Dr. Trevor Bell
Founding Director, SmartICE

"I get great satisfaction training the local youth in SmartICE's Employment Readiness Training program here in Nain. I get to see them gain confidence from our program, and use it as a starting point for their self-improvement. When it comes to the technical training—when they learn to build the SmartBUOYs—you can see the moment they realize that what they are putting together will possibly save lives, they get a great sense of pride that something they are doing with SmartICE will have a positive impact in keeping other people safe."

Rex Holwell
Northern Production and Regional Operations Lead, Nunatsiavut
SmartICE

"As AngajukKâk (mayor) of Nain, I can honestly say SmartICE is one thing that Nain can proudly claim as our own.  SmartICE opened the first northern production centre that makes SmartBUOYs (sea-ice thickness sensors) right here and employs all local members from the community. They have generated economic growth, strengthened capacity of individuals and created employment in our community."

Julius (Joe) Dicker
AngajukKâk
Nain Inuit Community Government

Quick facts

• A 2010 survey of residents in Nain (Nunatsiavut), following an extremely warm winter, indicated that 75% of sea-ice users could no longer predict ice conditions. It also found that 1 in 12 people surveyed had gone through the ice the previous winter.
• SmartICE uses both autonomous sensors (SmartBUOYs), set up anywhere on the ice, and operator-run sensors (SmartQAMUTIKs), towed by a snowmobile along trails, to measure and report ice thickness to communities.
• SmartICE focuses on building partnerships to train and employ local youth as producers, operators and technicians of its technology.
• In 2019 SmartICE was the recipient of a Governor General's Innovation award for its "truly exceptional, transformative and positive impact on quality of life in Canada".
• Funding for the projects announced today was provided through the Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program and the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program.
• The Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program works with Indigenous and northern communities, territorial and regional governments and other partners such as SmartICE to identify priorities and implement solutions for climate change adaptation across Canada's North.
• The Coastal Environmental Baseline Program is one of many actions the Government of Canada is taking to safeguard our coasts and waterways under the $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan.

Related products

Backgrounder – Sea-Ice Monitoring in Inuit Nunangat 
Backgrounder – Coastal Environmental Baseline Program funding to SmartICE

Associated links

SmartICE
Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program
Coastal Environmental Baseline Program
Oceans Protection Plan

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SOURCE Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

media may contact: Allison St.Jean, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, 819-953-1153; Media Relations, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, 819-934-2302, [email protected]; Jane Deeks, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, 343-550-9594, [email protected]; Media Relations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 613-990-7537, [email protected]