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The Back River Project is an approved gold mine in Nunavut, Canada owned by Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Sabina developed a comprehensive community engagement program during the environmental assessment phase of the Project to share information, receive and address local feedback and concerns, and develop productive relationships in support of Project advancement. This paper outlines Sabina's engagement program, successes and challenges encountered from the perspective of a mineral developer, and insights obtained for effective community engagement in a Canadian Arctic context. The program has been commended by observers and is consistent with best practice models. Sabina's experiences revealed the importance of engaging early and often using a context-specific approach; comprehensive record-keeping and reporting; the meaningful incorporation of community perspectives and Traditional Knowledge; and focusing on long-term relationships, partnerships, and local benefits. Effective community engagement subsequently played a key role in Sabina securing major licenses and permits for Project advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines search and rescue and backcountry medical response constraints in the Canadian Arctic and potential for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to aid in response and preparedness. Semi-structured interviews (n = 18) were conducted with search and rescue responders, Elders, and emergency management officials to collect data on current emergency response and potential for UAV use. UAV test flights (n = 17) were undertaken with community members. We analyzed five years of weather data to examine UAV flight suitability. Numerous challenges face Arctic search and rescue and backcountry emergency response. Changing social and environmental conditions were described as increasing vulnerability to backcountry emergencies. Responders desired additional first aid and emergency training. Legal and weather restrictions were found to limit where, when and who could fly UAVs. UAVs were demonstrated to have potential benefits for hazard monitoring but not for SAR or medical response due to legal restrictions, weather margins, and local capacity. We find that communities are ill-prepared for ongoing SAR demands, let alone a larger disaster. There are numerous limitations to the use of consumer UAVs by Arctic communities. Prevention of backcountry medical emergencies, building resilience to disasters, and first responder training should be prioritized over introducing UAVs to the response system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is already occurring in the Arctic and the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment recently concluded that future climate change could be devastating for Inuit. This paper characterises vulnerability to climate change in two Inuit communities in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, focusing on the resource harvesting sector. In both communities, Inuit have demonstrated significant adaptability in the face of current changes in climatic conditions. This adaptability is facilitated by traditional Inuit knowledge, strong social networks, flexibility in resource use, and institutional support. Changing Inuit livelihoods, however, have undermined certain aspects of adaptive capacity and have resulted in emerging vulnerabilities. Global and regional climate projections indicate that climatic conditions which currently pose risks are expected to be negatively affected by future climate change. These projections are not without precedent and analysis of current vulnerability and identification of adaptation constraints by Inuit in the two communities indicate the continued importance of traditional coping mechanisms. The ability to draw on these coping mechanisms in light of future climate change, however, will be unequal and the research indicates that young Inuit and those without access to economic resources, in particular, are vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reports mercury (Hg) concentrations and fluxes in precipitation that was collected from 2006 to 2008 at three sites in Canada: sub-Arctic boreal forest, sub-Arctic coast, and southern Alberta, using cold-adapted precipitation collectors which operated reliably at temperatures below −30 °C during the study. The southern Alberta site (Crossfield) may be influenced by Calgary urban air, whereas the sub-Arctic coastal (Churchill, Manitoba) and boreal forest (Fort Vermilion, Alberta) sites are in more remote northern areas. Annual mean Hg concentrations in precipitation (5.0–9.2 ng L−1) at the study sites were in the lower half of the range reported for southern Canada and the USA by the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN). But owing to typically low precipitation rates, gross wet Hg fluxes (0.54–2.0 μg m−2 yr−1) were among the lowest reported by MDN, with Crossfield having about twice the flux in 2007 of the other two sites. Flux was significantly correlated with precipitation, and thus was highest in summer (June–August) and lowest during winter, a pattern typical of other temperate continental locations. There was no evidence of higher wet Hg fluxes or concentrations in springtime at Churchill where atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs) occur. Measured gross deposition fluxes at the study locations were ∼2–8 times lower than estimated by GEOS-Chem and GRAHM atmospheric models. The largest discrepancy occurred for Churchill, which raises the question of how well Hg deposition from AMDEs is described by current models. Better agreement between measurements and models was obtained from MDN stations in Alberta and Alaska, where wet Hg fluxes were 2–10 times higher than the study sites either because of power plant emissions (Alberta), or because of high precipitation rates (Alaska). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As the Earth's changing climate has deepened into a climate crisis, the Arctic region has emerged as one of the clearest indicators of the scale and pace of that change. As the ice melts, opportunities are expanding to exploit the Arctic's oil and gas reserves, precious metals, fish stocks and maritime routes. Increased access and development will inevitably generate "system-wide environmental impacts" and will pose novel management challenges for the Arctic states. In the quest to find an effective balance between competing ocean activities and actors, marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) have emerged as indispensable tools to achieve ocean health, including in the Arctic. After first introducing these concepts, this article will discuss the Canadian and Russian domestic regimes for the establishment of MPAs and OECMs. The conclusion will then offer some insights into the key challenges confronting both states in the creation of effective networks of MPAs and OECMs in their Arctic regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comparative article reveals how the general focus of Canadian and Russian threat perceptions in the Arctic have shifted from a Cold War fixation on hard defence to accommodate soft security issues over the last three decades. Both countries now pay greater attention to threats and challenges stemming from climate change, security, and safety risks associated with resource development and increasingly accessible sea routes. Although concern about military conflict arising from Arctic disputes continues to frame some media discussions in both countries, most strategic analysts and academics have moved away from this line of argument. Instead, military functions now include assertion of Canadian and Russian sovereignty over their respective internal waters, as well as protection of resources in their exclusive economic zones and on and in extended continental shelves; protection of economic interests in the North, including mineral and bio-resources; prevention of potential terrorist attacks against critical industrial and state infrastructure; and dual-use functions, such as search and rescue operations, surveillance of air and maritime spaces, support to safe navigation, and mitigation of natural and human-made catastrophes. The authors argue that analysts should parse two forms of military modernization in the Arctic: one of capability development related to the global strategic balance, where the Arctic serves as a bastion or a thoroughfare; and a second intended to address emerging non-traditional security challenges. They contend that these modernization programs do not inherently upset the Arctic military balance and need not provoke a regional arms race. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Arctic navigation increases and states work, both at the international and the domestic level, at ensuring legal readiness, this article takes a closer look at regulation of Arctic Shipping in Canada and Russia. The analysis first focuses on the current domestic regimes that have developed over the past decades. It highlights that dissimilar political, economic and environmental contexts have shaped not only different shipping patterns off the Canadian and Russian coasts, but also dissimilar coastal state approaches that do not seem to converge noticeably under the influence of the Polar Code. The analysis then turns to challenges that lay ahead as existing regimes could be called into question due to receding ice cover and may need to adapt to evolving shipping patterns and technological innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global human influence on the climate is growing at an alarming pace. This trend appears doomed to continue. Polar regions are feeling the effects first. This means that if the impacts of climate change serve to motivate effective policies, polar regions could be a good place to look for climate policy innovation. It is within this context that this article considers Arctic climate policy in Russia and Canada. The basic question posed is whether the unique and immediate threat climate change presents in the Arctic is reflected in progressive laws and policies with respect to four key areas: mitigation, adaptation, impacts and vulnerability, and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]