Bathurst Inlet Study Tour – Trip Diary
July, 2003

Bathurst Inlet has some major developments brewing, and CARC staff, two Canadian Senators and several CARC supporters went this summer for a first-hand look at this beautiful part of the Canadian central Arctic. The group stayed for just over a week at Bathurst Inlet Lodge to meet the people, and listen to briefings on the history and ecology that make Bathurst Inlet an internationally recognized ecotourism destination. The focus of the trip was to gather information about a proposal to build a deep-sea port in the calving grounds of the Bathurst Caribou herd, and an all-weather road connecting the port to some of the most mineral-rich territory in the North.

The staff at the lodge and the residents of the tiny community of Bathurst Inlet were wonderful.  They shared volumes of information with us and helped us appreciate what an incredible place it is.  Sincere thanks to Glen and Trish Warner, and the Kapolak and Akoluk families for their hospitality.

Our tour began in Edmonton, where a long stopover allowed us time to visit the University of Alberta.  Prof. Stan Bouton and members of the Alberta Co-operative Conservation Research Unit (ACCRU) met with us to explain how computer modelling can be used to predict the likely effects of development proposals, and to track the cumulative effects of development.  CARC is working with ACCRU to develop new modelling techniques for Plan for the Land, our cumulative effects project in the Slave Geological Province, an area which stretches from Great Slave Lake to the Arctic coast.

I took the opportunity to show our supporters our cumulative effects modelling work to date, and to explain some of the things we'd be seeing from the air when we travelled north to Bathurst.

Next stop was Yellowknife, where we toured one of the Northwest Territories' new diamond cutting facilities.  The tour was very interactive, allowing us to peer through microscopes and chat with the staff.  Experts from Armenia have been brought in to train staff in the fledgling business, which will face stiff competition from established European diamond houses.

The tour of a Yellowknife diamond cutting facility afforded us  the opportunity to hold tens of thousands of dollars worth of uncut stones, and to watch them being cut. 

Lunch that day at the Wildcat Café featured a choice of caribou burgers or local whitefish—there is a commercial fishery on Great Slave Lake that provides a variety of fresh fish throughout the summer.

In the afternoon, we met with representatives of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (DIAND), Environment Canada and the NWT government's department of Resources, Water and Economic Development (RWED).  Presentations outlined the government's slow progress in cumulative effects management. Although a management framework was promised by the federal government as a condition of the settlement of our lawsuit over the Diavik diamond mine approval, no significant funding has been provided.  In fact, as of mid-July, DIAND was still unsure how much money it would have to support its cumulative effects work in the coming year.

RWED Biologist Ann Gunn gave us an excellent presentation on caribou, demonstrating both her vast experience and her passion for her work.

Aerial photography of the Bathurst caribou herd had just been completed. The photos now need to be analysed to give a rough count of the size of the herd. RWED caribou biologist, Ann Gunn advised that her impression is that she saw nothing to indicate that the herd's numbers are increasing. 

Ann's presentation flagged a number of issues for us that would become important in the days to come.  She described how the existing mining roads, near the Ekati and Diavik mines, are affecting the caribou.  Built up on piles of large rock, the roads present an unusual challenge for the migrating herd.  Caribou are being found with cut, swollen and infected feet and broken legs in the vicinity of the mines. It is also thought that they are more vulnerable to predation by wolves and hunters when in the vicinity of road crossings. Caribou cows show signs of feeding less near the mine sites, which may be affecting their ability to conceive and to nourish calves.

At dinner that evening, we were joined by CBC North’s Jennifer Tilden and her camera man Tyson Koschik, as well as Senator Willy Adams of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, all of whom would accompany us to Bathurst.  The Mayor of Yellowknife and representatives of Ekati Diamond mine and the government of the Northwest Territories were our guests for the evening.

Air Tindi’s float plane loads the week’s food supplies at the float dock in Old Town, Yellowknife.

Next morning, Senator Nick Sibbeston of Fort Simpson, NWT, and the team from Canadian Geographic (Executive Director Rick Boychuk and award winning photographer Patrice Halley) joined us.  We travelled north on two Twin Otter planes, one on floats, and the other on wheels.

The Ekati mine’s main pit

Diavik Diamond Mine

En route, we flew over the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines and then followed the corridor of the proposed all-weather road. Ann Gunn had been kind enough to provide us with the prior day’s radio collar tracking data for the caribou, but we were disappointed in our attempts to locate them:  caribou can move 20 or more miles in a day and are extremely hard to spot from the air in any event, blending as they do with the tundra.

The flight was amazing:  as taiga gave way to tundra, those who had never been north before remarked in awe at the number of lakes and rivers dotting the landscape. 

Contwoyto Lake still had ice on it as we crossed.

Bathurst Inlet Lodge is built on the site of, and in fact incorporates the buildings of former Hudson’s Bay Company post known as Burnside River.  Nestled in the river’s delta, it is a collection of small, classic red-and-white Bay buildings flanked by the newer houses of the community members.

Bathurst Inlet Lodge: the houses along the shore are residents’ homes

When our first morning dawned clear and bright, we decided to take the long trip from the lodge to the proposed port site, near the southern end of the Inlet.  Travelling by pontoon boat and motorboats, it was a spectacular three-hour journey.  On the way, we all became intrigued with the unusual geology of the area, with its curiously vertical sedimentary layers interspersed with harder, volcanic rock.

Massive forces resulted in the intrusion of magma into the sedimentary layers of the Inle.  The magma cooled to form igneous rock and the whole mass was subsequently lifted and tilted as seen here.  It was then scoured by glaciers that moved from south to north through the Inlet.

The port site itself is located within the critical calving area of the Bathurst Caribou herd.  While none of the herd was in residence, the ground is clearly marked with their trails, droppings and bones.  This was also a hunting site, evidenced by the bones and by stone tool “chipping stations”, where Inuit and pre-Dorset people made arrowheads for the hunt.  There was also evidence of the recent presence of muskox.  Staff naturalist Page Burt explained that the animals retreat to higher, cooler ground when summer days become as hot as this one had:  the temperature that day, and throughout the week, remained in the high 20’s.

Bathurst Inlet Lodge’s pontoon boat exiting a narrow  twisting passage en route to the proposed port site.  We marvelled at the thought of massive ocean going oil tankers following this route.

We were particularly interested in the proposed shipping route to the port site, as no vessels larger than our pontoon boat currently navigate the waters south of the settlement of Bathurst Inlet.  The project proposal suggests that 25,000-ton combined ore and fuel tankers will navigate this narrow, twisting passage between two islands in shallow waters scattered with shoals. Our boat captain, Allen Kapolak, knows these waters well, and has seen waves as high as four metres in the southern end of the inlet. He has doubts about the ability of large ships to successfully navigate this route. 

Dinner-plate-sized fossils of algal limestone stromaoilites abound in the Inlet, attesting to its age. These are among the oldest fossil remains yet discovered, and date to the time the earth’s atmosphere changed from a reducing to an oxidizing environment. The stromatolites are believed to be responsible for bringing about the change.

An astonishing variety of wildflowers blooms in July at Bathurst Inlet.

A single cow caribou greeted us on one of our landfalls. Most of the herd had moved out of the region and will not return until September, when the migration to the south begins.

Tent ring believed to have been built by the Thule, a culture predating modern Inuit.  Thule rings are characterized by their large boulders placed touching each other, and by floors either paved or raised above the surrounding area.

We passed the next few days exploring the Inlet and learning about local history, geology, flora and fauna, climate change, and the project proposal itself.  By mid-week, we were all primed for a meeting with the Bathurst Inlet Road and Port Committee, a group from the settlement that was formed to represent local interests. 

Committee President Connie Kapolak and Vice President Craig Thomas outlined their concerns about not being consulted on a project that may threaten their livelihood, which depends upon being able to offer a wilderness environment.  Oil spills and the impact on caribou are chief concerns - Connie explained that caribou provides about 80% of the meat for Bathurst families, in addition to being a major tourist attraction.

Local residents, CARC supporters and project proponents meet at Bathurst Inlet Lodge.

The Senators provided an interesting counterpoint to the discussion.  Senator Adams delivered a rousing endorsement of the project at the outset of the meeting. Senator Sibbeston enquired if residents could find a political champion to help them ensure that the project was re-routed or mitigated properly. He also shared some of his negotiating experience with the Deh Cho Dene First Nation, and supported the rights of local people to have a "major say" in any development on their lands and waters.

We concluded the meeting with an agreement to share information with the Committee, and keep them advised about key dates for public participation.

Next day, a group flew in from Cambridge Bay, a larger settlement on an island north of Bathurst Inlet.  The people who came included representatives of the groups behind the road and port proposal. Charlie Lyall of the Kitikmeot Corporation, Cambridge Bay Mayor Keith Peterson and Charlie Evalik of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association arrived with two elders and some youths, as well as Tony Keane, a consultant. 

Staff met privately with the proponents at first, to set ground rules for a coming meeting in Cambridge Bay, where we'll outline our concerns with the project and advocate an alternate route that will not interfere with caribou migrations.

Connie Kapolak, second from right, is Chair of the Bathurst Inlet Port and Road Committee.

The proponents argued that economic development in Nunavut is urgent and essential.  They say that unemployment in Cambridge Bay is far higher than the official 30% figure: they say it's more like 70%.  They cited social issues like suicide rates and unemployment as the reasons for the development, which is expected to open up numerous new mines. They claimed that any alternate route was "too expensive" and that only the proposal as written would answer development needs.

We learned that the project is really only at the conceptual stage, so that there are no answers to some of the questions posed by Bathurst Inlet residents about shipping routes, the kind of ships that might be used, how the shipping season might be extended as ice continues to thin in the Northwest Passage, or what oil spill contingency plans might look like. The proponents do not intend to operate the shipping business themselves, so any information we have from them about the shipping is largely guess-work at this stage.

By the end of that meeting, our supporters had enough information that they began asking how they could express their views on the project to appropriate regulators.  We expect that a number of letters will be sent to the Nunavut Impact Review Board and DIAND Minister Nault.

For our part, we will add substantially to our submissions to the Nunavut Impact Review Board on this phase of the assessment, due August 11, 2003.  Watch our website for further postings.

Special thanks to all of the staff of the lodge, including: 

Allen and Sam Kapolak, Tommy, Robert and Bryan Akoluk and Doris Kingnektak who guided our boat tours; Page Burt and Linda Gordon who served as guides and shared their knowledge of Bathurst Inlet; Lena Kamoayok, Susie and Connie Kapolak and Yvonne Angohiagok, for keeping us very well fed.