CARC 1991 Annual Report
Two Decades of Change in Canada's North

The past 12 months have been something of a rollercoaster ride for the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee. Economic recession, the development of our membership program, and a host of pressing issues in the Arctic combined to make our 20th anniversary year one of the most challenging in recent memory. But as we look ahead to 1992 and beyond, the prospects are bright. Increasingly, governments, aboriginal peoples, and environmentalists are forming new and innovative partnerships by which to address the challenges of the future.

Two decades ago, the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee was formed in response to growing concerns about the impact of large-scale northern resource development, and because it had become clear that our understanding of the region's complex ecosystem was less than adequate. CARC brought a fresh perspective to bear on resource development issues, one derived from hard work rather than headline-grabbing and empty rhetoric. We brought together representatives from North and South, government and individuals, industry and the environmental community, to propose new ways of thinking about the relationship between man and the environment.

A number of things have changed since 1971, and a lot of new terms have entered the environmental lexicon; ideas such as "sustainable development", "traditional knowledge", "greenhouse effect", and "ozone depletion" didn't mean much back then. But what has not changed is the requirement to ensure that resource development projects are evaluated on the basis of the most complete information available, end that the needs and aspirations of local communities are balanced against broader economic considerations.

Like the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline of the mid-1970s, in which CARC played a prominent role, hydroelectric development in the Hudson Bay region is an undertaking of massive proportions, the ramifications of which will be felt in jurisdictions far beyond northern Quebec. Through the Hudson Bay Program, CARC will seek once again to inform a contentious national debate by assembling our knowledge of the issue and marshalling expertise, in collaboration with the Environmental Committee of Sanikiluaq and the Rawson Academy of Aquatic Science.

While the overall goal of the program is to provide a source of independent expertise on the impacts of projects in Quebec, Manitoba, and Ontario, the specific objectives are to:

• assess the cumulative environmental impacts of existing and planned hydro projects on the ecosystems of Hudson Bay and James Bay; and
• propose co-operative processes for decision making among governments, developers, and aboriginal peoples to foster sustainable development in the region.

A unique feature of the program is the central role to be played by the Inuit community of Sanikiluaq in working with other aboriginal communities in the region to identify traditional knowledge of environmental impacts. As Lucassie Aragutainuq, a member of the program team in Sanikiluaq, put it at a recent conference in Montreal: "Before, we were guides for the scientists from the South. In this program, we are not guides any longer; we are partners in the research."

The Hudson Bay Program will be a major component of CARC's policy work over the course of the next three years, but it will not be the sole object of the committee's attentions. As the Arctic is transformed through global change, new political relationships, and technological innovation, the need for a vision of the North based on sound information and objective analysis has never been greater. With the help of a dedicated membership drawn from all regions of Canada, CARC will continue to be a national voice for many years to come.