This was our 5th Day in Rankin Inlet. Today was the coldest so far. I thought I was brave enough to make the short walk to the classroom this morning without wearing my tuque. Foolish mistake. My forehead was stinging from the cold. It's only a 2 minute walk over there. When I came back at noon, I dressed properly.
In the training today we went though waste acceptance procedures and emergency response. It was interesting to hear from the municipal folks how prepared they are for every emergency situation that may come their way. They are prepared for fires, floods, blizzards, fuel shortages, water interruptions, spills, medical emergencies, and more. We are told that the Canadian Coast Guard has spill response equipment available in each community for spills on the ocean or on hudson bay. Since all the fuel for heating, vehicles, and air traffic is delivered by ships, it is important to have this response plan in place - just in case.
We saw today where the tanker ships moor off shore to unload fuel at Rankin Inlet. These communities don't have a deep water port, so the fuel has to be pumped to the storage tanks on shore. This is done by laying out a floating pipeline from the ship to a shore connection and pumping from the ship. It takes three or four days to pump the ship's supply.
When the training was done, we took a trip out to the airport to look at the equipment that was being started up to start work on a 48 km road that is being built to a new gold mine north of Rankin Inlet. To us 'southerners', this seemed odd because it is -40 C. But they want to get out before the ice melt.
On a tour around town, we got a ride out onto the ice pack on Hudson Bay. The ice is about 4 feet thick, and we are told that because it is salt water it is much harder than fresh water ice and because of the salt water, it's more buoyant. So it is perfectly safe to drive on. The only thing that limited how far we went out is the snow cover. You don't want to get stuck out on the ice at -40.
On the shoreline around the bay, there are several boats. Some are a good size, others are fairly small boats. These aren't ships, they are boats. In summer, they are used to fish and hunt (whales, seals, polar bears). One of the locals told us today they have seen polar bears swimming in open water 200 km off shore. I wondered why you'd want to be 200 km off shore in those little boats.
I've only been to Nunavut Territory in February. I've truly enjoyed these trips, even though it is cold. With all the scenes we have encountered, and the stories that the locals tell us, I would love to visit here in summer.