Photo essay: Inuvik, Canada

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic @arctic_eq
Posted: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 21:54 — Last Updated: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 21:32
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A look at how the natural gas crisis is affecting Inuvik, Northwest Territories.
Photos by Eilis Quinn

An Inuit inukshuk in downtown Inuvik. The town is approximately 100km above the Arctic Circle. The population is about one third Gwich’in (one of the Canada’s aboriginal First Nations), one third Inuvaluit (a western Arctic Inuit group) and one-third from other regions of Canada and the world.

What will the new Arctic highway mean for residents in Inuvik (pictured above) and elsewhere in the region? Photo Credit: (Eilis Quinn / Eye on the Arctic)

“I can’t lie and say I haven’t lost sleep over this,” says Inuvik mayor Denny Rodgers on the town’s natural gas crisis.

About 87 per cent of the town’s residences are currently powered on natural gas says Inuvik’s mayor.

Diesel tanks on the outskirts of Inuvik. Several businesses have gone back to diesel in order to conserve the town’s dwindling natural gas supply.

“We almost need an Arctic community energy policy or plan because it really is a driver on the cost of living in these communities,” says Peter Clarkson, regional director of the Beaufort Delta for the government of the Northwest Territories.

Changing fuel sources will incurs significant costs. Switching Inuvik’s Power Corp. back to diesel to will cost $5million a year.

Inuvik's Midnight Sun Complex in Canada's Northwest Territories. CBC's Cross Country Checkup call-in show visited Inuvik earlier this month to ask the question: "Is Canada making the right moves in developing the north?" (Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic) — Inuvik’s Midnight Sun Complex, home to the town’s aquatic centre, in Canada’s Northwest Territories. How should water safety be taught differently in the Arctic? (Eilís Quinn/Eye on the Arctic)

“Timing up here is important,” says Kevin MacKay, General Manager of Inuvik Gas Ltd. “We need to be ready to go start drilling probably late this year if we’re going to meet the timelines to get the wells drilled, the pipeline built and connected to the system before we run out of gas.”

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."

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Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

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