* About PDF Documents

ARTICLES

Prevention and cooperation:
search and rescue in Nunavut’s national parks

By Andrew Maher, Public Safety Coordinator, Nunavut Field Unit of Parks Canada

Responding to personal locator beacon distress calls, snowmobile searches at forty below, plucking climbers off 1000-foot cliffs, evacuating injured hikers from the top of the world, and hazing polar bears away from park visitors have all been a part of the search and rescue (SAR) services provided in Nunavut’s national parks. Despite the need for an occasional dramatic SAR response, the bulk of Parks Canada’s SAR program in Nunavut is built on the simple principles of prevention and cooperation.

Nunavut is a land of extremes - in temperature, weather, length of daylight (or lack thereof), and remoteness. Given these extremes, it would be easy to assume that few people visit the territory or that those who live here never leave the relative comfort of their homes. In fact, visitors to the territory and Nunavummiut (Nunavut residents) travel widely on the land in all seasons and enjoy a range of traditional and modern activities. Whether Inuit, Northerner, or visitor, those travelling here could be confronted by numerous hazards caused by wildlife, terrain, climate, and isolation, which sometimes result in the need for SAR assistance.

Many who venture out on the land from Nunavut’s communities enter or travel through one of Nunavut’s four national parks – Auyuittuq, Quttinirpaaq, Sirmilik, and Ukkusiksalik – which cover a total of over 100,000 square kilometres or an area roughly twice the size of Nova Scotia. Within the park boundaries, the Parks Canada Agency is responsible for public safety, which includes performing SAR operations when the need arises. With an average of over 1000 tourists entering these parks each year, and far more Inuit who are not required to register their travel in the park, the 25 or so staff spread throughout the four parks would be quickly overwhelmed if not for a focus on preventing incidents before they occur and cooperation with our local and regional SAR partners.

Possible hazards

River crossings are one of the most significant hazards in Auyuittuq National Park. Park staff keep their swiftwater rescue skills sharp in an annual rescue course. Photo Credit: Parks Canada

Polar bears, avalanches, dangerous river crossings, thin ice, hypothermia, inaccessibility, and a lack of reliable communications are just a few of the hazards that one may encounter in Nunavut’s national parks. These hazards often carry significant consequences, both from the hazard itself and from the challenges of performing SAR operations in this vast land with minimal resources. In this context, incident prevention is acutely important. For Parks Canada, this is achieved by understanding the hazards and their mitigations, and then through public education.

Fortunately for Parks Canada, there is a wealth of knowledge about the hazards and effective mitigations available from elders and other experienced members of the local Inuit communities that surround the parks. Parks Canada relies on the knowledge provided locally and by other experts to highlight hazards present for different park users and create relevant education programs for them.

Safety education for visitors

An elder from Pond Inlet teaches park staff and community members about sea ice safety. By working with local experts, park staff can develop relevant education programs and help provide park users with accurate safety information. Photo Credit: Terry Kalluk

For visitors, safety education often begins well before they come to Nunavut either through the Parks Canada website or from information provided by mail or telephone. Visitors receive a pre-trip information package that outlines relevant hazards and the measures that they can take to make their trip safer. Upon arrival in the local community, visitors participate in a mandatory orientation session before they enter the park, during which an experienced park staff member reviews the hazards specific to their travel plans and ensures that their experience, equipment, and plans account for the severity of hazards that they are likely to encounter.

Self-reliance is emphasized so that visitors understand that they must be sufficiently prepared to manage risks and perform some measure of self-rescue if needed. While in the park, visitors may be provided up-to-date information by checking in with the park office by satellite phone or radio, or they may encounter park staff while on patrol.

As Inuit, most members of the local communities are not required to participate in mandatory orientation sessions before entering the park. For these park users, Parks Canada provides safety education through school programs and public information. These programs focus on hazards that are relevant to the types of activities that local people perform in the parks and are often developed using local knowledge or with community cooperation. Parks staff also post current weather conditions and information about hazards, including weather and sea ice conditions, or report on hazards in specific areas of the parks used for travel or traditional activities.

Cooperation

Although the national parks in Nunavut are expansive, the park operations consist of just a few seasonal and full-time staff and limited equipment dedicated to public safety. Fortunately, our prevention program, combined with the strong land skills and self-reliance of most park users, effectively reduce the number of incidents to just a handful each year. Unfortunately, the incidents that do occur, even if seemingly minor in nature, are often challenging due to the large distances, complex terrain, unpredictable weather, and limited resources. These complexities, combined with park boundaries that are not discernable on the landscape and rescue operations that may span several land authorities, require significant cooperation between Parks Canada, local volunteer SAR teams, and territorial and national government departments or agencies.

Parks Canada staff get dropped at the base of Barbeau Peak, Ellesmere Island, for a two-week glacier training course. Photo Credit: Chris Gooliaff

Each of these partners can provide unique assets to SAR operations. Parks Canada staff often have specialized training (e.g. avalanche rescue, crevasse rescue, advanced first aid, and swift water rescue) and equipment (e.g. wheeled stretchers, oxygen warmers, and response vehicles or vessels). Local volunteer SAR teams, working with the Nunavut Emergency Measures Organization, can usually mobilize many searchers, have an intimate knowledge of the area, and can organize many of the local logistics needed for searches. In large searches, or when specialized resources are required, the Department of National Defence, including the Rangers, as well as the Coast Guard, may be called to assist.

These partnerships are not just built on formal agreements. At the local level, park staff and volunteer SAR teams may cooperate on incidents and training, consult on risk assessments or safety plans, and provide reciprocal support for developing new projects. In most communities, Parks Canada staff are active members of the SAR teams participating in meetings, exercises, and incident response. Parks Canada will often provide staff and equipment for SAR incidents outside of park boundaries, and volunteer SAR teams also assist Parks Canada with SAR operations in the park. As with any partnership, issues may arise, but in the spirit of cooperation so ingrained in Inuit culture, they are usually quickly overcome in favour of what is best for the lost or injured party.

Providing SAR within Nunavut’s national parks may appear to be a daunting task, but through public education and collaborating as part of a larger SAR team, Parks Canada strives ever closer to achieving its goal of providing safe and enjoyable experiences to all park users.

Andrew Maher currently lives in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, where he works as the Senior Resource Management and Public Safety Specialist for Sirmilik National Park and the Public Safety Coordinator for the Nunavut Field Unit of Parks Canada. Drawing on previous arctic and mountain experiences, Andrew is always seeking ways to increase public safety awareness through integration with local knowledge and youth education. When not working, Andrew enjoys exploring northern Baffin Island on skis, by kayak, and with his dog team.

 Table of Contents