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Editor: Sue Hamilton
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The Fan Hitch, Journal
of the Inuit Sled Dog, is published four
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This site is dedicated to the Inuit Dog as well as related Inuit culture and traditions. It is also home to The Fan Hitch, Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog.
The Fan Hitch welcomes your letters, stories, comments and suggestions. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit submissions used for publication.
Contents of The Fan Hitch are protected by international copyright laws. No photo, drawing or text may be reproduced in any form without written consent. Webmasters please note: written consent is necessary before linking this site to yours! Please forward requests to Sue Hamilton, 55 Town Line Rd., Harwinton, Connecticut 06791, USA or mail@thefanhitch.org.
This site is dedicated to the Inuit Dog as well as related Inuit culture and traditions. It is also home to The Fan Hitch, Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog.
Latest intended location of Iqaluit’s second asphalt plant (upper left), submitted to the Nunavut Impact
Review Board by Kudlik Construction LTD. West 40 site lower right. image: Kudlik Constuction
Iqaluit Asphalt Plant Update
by Sue Hamilton
Back in March 2015 The Fan Hitch reported on plans for a second asphalt plant to be constructed in Iqaluit at the proposed West 40 area that would necessitate the displacement (eviction) of several of the dog teams that had been picketed there for many, many years.
Then in the June issue we heard from the Nunavut Impact Review Board, “… it remains our understanding that there are currently no plans in place to develop a second asphalt plant for the city of Iqaluit. As I understand the lands in question are under the administration of the City of Iqaluit, it would be the City’s responsibility to ensure that any planned works or activities does not proceed until the appropriate authorizations are in place…Should the construction of a new asphalt plant be proposed for the city of Iqaluit, it would be the NIRB’s expectation that the same would not be exempt from the requirement for NIRB screening…”
Most recently, a November 9, 2015 communication from the NIRB indicated that the proposed second asphalt plant had been relocated, even before it was submitted to the NIRB. The NIRB’s spokesperson stated,“…Kudlik Construction noted…the location of the proposed batch asphalt plant is not where sled dogs are currently at. She noted that they had changed the location of the proposed project after they saw it could be an issue with the dog teams (and all of this happened before the proposal came to the NIRB).” The decision to move the site for the construction of the backup asphalt plant was actually finalize during early summer as, according to a Kudlik project manager, “The decision to move the site for the construction of the backup asphalt plant [was made when it]…became clear that a better option for all should be found.”
Kudos to Kudlik Construction!
In November 2015 the NIRB published its Notice of Release and Screening Decision Report of Kudlik’s proposed “Backup Asphalt Plant to IIAIP Project”.
It was their view that "… the project proposal is not likely to cause significant public concerns, and it is unlikely to result in significant adverse environmental and social impacts." And they recommended the Minister(s) sign off on their report. In essence, they were satisfied with the information in the proposal and reports that were sent to them for examination. They found no cause for any investigation nor identified any new concerns over the project as proposed.
Back in the first calendar quarter of 2015, dog team owners faced a forced relocation of their dog teams from the West 40 site. The crisis brought to the forefront yet again the issue of supporting Nunavut’s Official Animal in its capital as a living icon, a fundamental element of Inuit culture and history. It appears that with the new asphalt plant no longer set for the West 40 site, the matter of identifying a safe and secure and permanently dedicated location to keep working Inuit Dogs will once again fade…until the next crisis unfolds.