Northern Quebec Research Articles

Preventing diabetes after pregnancy with gestational diabetes in a Cree community: an inductive thematic analysis

IntroductionHistorical and political factors underpin the disproportional burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in women, a harbinger of future T2DM, in Indigenous populations. There...

In Situ Multiple Sulfur Isotope and S/Se Composition of Magmatic Sulfide Occurrences in the Labrador Trough, Northern Quebec

AbstractThe interaction between mafic-ultramafic magma and crustal sulfide is considered a key process in the formation of magmatic Ni-Cu-platinum group element (PGE) sulfide deposits. Integrated S/Se and multiple sulfur isotope studies are the most robust in constraining the role of crustal sulfur during ore genesis. In the present study, we report the first integrated S/Se and multiple sulfur isotope study of magmatic sulfide occurrences in the Labrador Trough, namely, on the recently discovered Idefix PGE-Cu and Huckleberry Cu-Ni-(PGE) prospects.Whole-rock and in situ S/Se values (~810–3115) of magmatic sulfides and their host rocks are consistent with S loss during postmagmatic hydrothermal alteration, negating their use in interpreting the origin of S. Values of ∆33S ~0 indicate no record of the assimilation of Archaean sulfur. Disseminated (–0.5 to +2.5‰) and globular (3.0–4.5‰) sulfides at Idefix as well as globular sulfides (2.1–9.6‰) at Huckleberry have δ34S values greater than the accepted mantle range, suggesting that crustal S played a role in the formation of these sulfides. In contrast, disseminated and net-textured sulfides at Huckleberry have variable δ34S values (–4.6 to +3.2‰) that are mostly within the accepted mantle range, excluding one anomalous sample that records relatively higher δ34S values (11.9–15.0‰). It is proposed that sulfide melt segregated in response to the addition of small proportions of crustal S prior to the final emplacement of the host intrusions, i.e., in a feeder conduit or staging chamber. Isotopic exchange between the sulfide melt and silicate magma has diluted and, in places, eradicated a crustal δ34S signature.

Anthropological perspectives on Miyupimaatisiiun and the integration of oral health in primary care in the Cree communities of Northern Quebec.

The integration of primary oral health care has a pivotal role in improving oral health outcomes and providing accessible and affordable health care. This article contributes to the deep understanding of the cultural aspects of the integration of oral health into primary health care at an Indigenous health organization. Proceeding from a collaborative and interdisciplinary research project evaluating the integration of oral health care within primary care in Eeyou Istchee, this research is based on group discussions (6) and individual interviews (36) with 74 participants (care providers, administrators, and patients) held in four Eastern James Bay Cree communities. This study anthropologically explored participants' perceptions about primary health care conceptualizations, culturally based approaches, and experiences of oral care services at this organization using a "two-eyed seeing" Indigenous framework. The study identified three key factors related to the integration of primary oral health care: Cree perception of primary health and oral health care, cultural safety, and health provider-patient communication and the role of silence. Study findings reflected a dichotomy of perception of primary health care and the relevant units of care between the Cree structural and cultural perspective and the non-Cree professional perspective. The Cree people perceived "household" as a unit of care in comparison to non-Cree who viewed "health care services" as units of care. Our results also underline the role of cultural safety agents to address the needs for cultural competence and the role of silence as implicit cultural protocol. Our anthropological analysis illustrates the potential for increasing the level of appreciation for both users and workers in oral care in the future by ameliorating communication skills and intercultural knowledge.

Towards a better understanding of the benefits and risks of country food consumption using the case of walruses in Nunavik (Northern Quebec, Canada)

Food insecurity affects Inuit communities. One solution is to consume locally harvested foods, named country foods. However, some country foods are not eaten as often as before, and pressures including contaminants and environmental changes threaten the health of Arctic fauna, thus its suitability for local consumption. By combining Inuit Knowledge with laboratory data, our study assessed the benefits and risks of walrus consumption by Inuit in Nunavik, Québec, Canada. It aimed to increase understanding of: 1) the hunt of healthy Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus); 2) the safe preparation of walruses; 3) the nutritional benefits and risks of consuming walruses. To do so, we interviewed 34 hunters and Elders from Nunavik. Levels of mercury, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and selenium were evaluated from locally harvested walruses. Through the Nunavik Trichinellosis Prevention Program, a total of 755 Atlantic walrus samples, collected between 1994 and 2013, were tested for Trichinella nativa. Information on botulism was reviewed. While interviews informed on how to select healthy walruses and prepare them for consumption, laboratory analyses revealed that walruses had elevated levels of omega-3 fatty acids and selenium but low levels of mercury compared to some other wildlife. Only 3% of the 755 walruses were infected with T. nativa. Most walruses' infections were found within individuals from the South East Hudson Bay stock, where Inuit have thus decided to stop hunting since mid-2000s. Finally, although the number of outbreaks of trichinellosis related to the consumption of walruses has significantly reduced in Nunavik, botulism could continue to be an issue when igunaq (i.e. aged walrus) is not properly prepared. With the support of the Nunavik Trichinellosis Prevention Program and transmission of Inuit knowledge on igunaq preparation, the consumption of Atlantic walruses has the potential to help address issues related to food insecurity in Nunavik in the future.

Boulder barricades in an emerging hypertidal environment: the case of Ungava Bay, northern Quebec, Canada

ABSTRACTBoulder barricades are poorly documented Holocene coastal landforms of Arctic and Subarctic regions. To understand the terrain factors and coastal processes explaining the occurrences of boulder barricades, we mapped and described these periglacial landforms along the emerging hypertidal coast of Ungava Bay, in Nunavik, northern Quebec, Canada. This study examines the spatial distribution as well as the different types and configurations of boulder barricades, and identifies and discusses the formation processes of these ridges, which are affected by the ongoing glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) process. We distinguish four types of ice-formed boulder ridges: low-tide-, intertidal-, high-tide- and raised boulder barricades. Our results highlight the importance of specific terrain factors (coastal configurations, intertidal and backshore slopes, widths of intertidal zones, susceptibility to coastal erosion) and related coastal processes (ice-pushing and ice-rafting intensified by strong tidal currents), forming these different types of barricades. Due to the GIA process, this coastal region is characterized by a large number of evolutionary sequences (i.e. flights) of boulder barricades, from the intertidal zone to the emerged landscape. These sea-ice-related landforms have significant effects on the coastal geomorphology of the Ungava Bay region by successively enclosing and isolating many ponds and lakes.

COMPLEMENTARITY OF THE GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS FOR INTERACTIVE AID AND DOMINANCE-BASED ROUGH SET APPROACH APPLIED TO THE CLASSIFICATION OF NON-URBAN MUNICIPALITIES

Graphical analysis for interactive aid (GAIA) and the dominance-based rough set approach (DRSA) are compared as methods of explaining the solution to a multi-criteria ranking problem obtained using the preference ranking organization method for the enrichment of evaluations (PROMETHEE). The classification of 52 municipalities in Northern Quebec in terms of the socioeconomic situation is based on three attributes: home conditions, employment and demographic potential. The classification provided to the decision maker is aggregated information. To facilitate decision-making, the problem is first considered as a sorting task, in which municipalities are distributed into three categories: best (B), worst (W) or intermediate (I), based on the PROMETHEE ranking. In order to improve the position of a municipality thus categorized, the decision maker needs information that will answer the questions: What criteria are relevant to the municipality? What criteria are in conflict? What are the critical values of the criteria? We show that GAIA and DRSA provide convergent and complementary information that allow enrichment of the answers to these questions. Keywords: management decision support, multi-criteria analysis, GAIA, dominance-based rough set approach.

BUILDING TOGETHER

The objective of the article is to underline the importance of community-based participatory research, which involves institutional researchers and community practitioners, in establishing local and regional research priorities in relation to HIV/AIDS. We describe an 11-month-long reflection process conducted by a research collective in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of northern Quebec. The significant results of the joint reflection and discussion process included: the development of local capacities for research and collective action, involving academics and practitioners; the valorization of participatory research; and the increased accessibility of research-based knowledge for community actors involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In contrast with more traditional research methods, the participatory approach situates the balance of power within a research collective that jointly determines, throughout the course of the project, the priorities that best reflect local needs for HIV/AIDS research. This initial process of discussion resulted also in the joint validation of a forthcoming grant application to be submitted to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Toxocara seroprevalence in Canada-Climate, environment and culture.

Human infection with larvae of canine and feline roundworms belonging to the genus Toxocara can lead to devastating visceral, neural or ocular larvae migrans disease. However, such overt disease represents a fraction of cases. Far more common is covert toxocariasis, a less severe, but clinically symptomatic form of disease, and those who are exposed to infective larvae and seroconvert, but appear to be asymptomatic. Canada represents a unique epidemiological environment for Toxocara infection and exposure. Although the freezing conditions of the vast Arctic Tundra region of the North are thought unlikely to support the lifecycle of Toxocara spp., exposure and seroconversion does occur in people belonging to Inuit communities of this region. Further south, in the sub-Arctic of northern Quebec and Saskatchewan, there is a higher seroprevalence in many Canadian First Nations communities. The epidemiology of these infections is different to that seen in the non-Indigenous communities of the Humid Continental region. Poverty and climate play a major part in the risk of Toxocara seropositive status in Canada, but other factors such as unique cultural practices, population density of humans and reservoir hosts, and contact with wildlife are also factors in exposure and subsequent seroconversion in Canadian communities. This review discusses previous Toxocara seroprevalence studies performed in Canada, summarizes the data for domestic and wild animal reservoir hosts of Toxocara canis, Toxocara cati, Toxocara vitulorum and the closely related helminth, Toxascaris leonina. It also discusses how the unique and varied aspects of climate, culture and environment impacts human Toxocara exposure in Canada.

Transgressing the Division of Powers: The Case of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement

AbstractIn 1975, the Bourassa government received legal advice that the James Bay Northern Quebec Agreement exceeded provincial jurisdiction. Legal counsel advised the constitutionality of the Agreement be secured through formal constitutional amendment. No such amendment was sought. Based on authorized access to Premier Bourassa’s archived dossier on the Agreement’s negotiation, this article sets out the following: 1) why the provincial government sought to encroach on federal jurisdiction; 2) the strategic means employed to insulate the Agreement from s. 91(24) litigation; and 3) provincial negotiators’ views on how judges would approach the Agreement going forward. This article confirms theoretical expectations about when governments might coordinate to transgress federalism’s division of powers: a high probability that courts would find a transgression occurred, and a high political cost should governments not coordinate on a transgression strategy.

Boreal tree-rings are influenced by temperature up to two years prior to their formation: a trade-off between growth and reproduction?

Large spatial and between-tree variability has recently been observed in the response of boreal forests to ongoing climate change, spanning from growth stimulation by increasing temperatures to drought limitation. To predict future responses of boreal forests, it is necessary to disentangle the drivers modulating the temperature-growth interaction. To address this issue, we established two inventory plots (at a treeline and closed-canopy forest) and assembled site chronologies in Picea glauca stands at the transition between boreal forest and tundra in Northern Quebec, Canada. In addition to site chronologies, we established a set of chronologies containing, for each year, exclusive subsets of tree-rings with specific cambial age (young/old), tree dimensions (small/large) and tree social status (dominant/suppressed). All chronologies were correlated with climatic data to identify the course of climatic conditions driving variability in tree-ring widths. Our results show that the growth of P. glauca correlates significantly with summer temperature in tree-ring formation years and during up to two prior summers. Tree-ring width is positively influenced by summer temperatures in tree-ring formation year and two years prior to tree-ring formation. In addition, climate-growth correlations indicate a negative effect of summer temperature one year before tree-ring formation at the closed-canopy forest site. The pattern of climate-growth correlations is tightly synchronized with previously published patterns of climate-reproduction correlations of P. glauca, suggesting a growth-reproduction trade-off as a possible factor modulating the response of boreal forests to summer temperatures. Climatic signal does not differ between pairs of chronologies based on subsets of cambial ages, stem dimensions or tree competition status at the treeline site. However, the response to summer temperatures one year before tree-ring formation is significant only in mature (old, large and dominant) individuals at the closed-canopy site. The inverse pattern of temperature-growth correlations during a sequence of three years challenges predictions of how boreal forests respond to climate change.

Influence of Stem Taper on the Yield of Black Spruce Stands and Trees Following Commercial Thinning

In this work, we examine the effects of commercial thinning on stand volume and individual stem form in nine naturally regenerated black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) stands. We compared these study sites with controls in the commercial boreal forest of northern Quebec, Canada. At stand level, dendrochronological data provided insight into changes in stand volume ten years after thinning. Analysis of a subsample of six individual trees from each commercially thinned stand and three individual trees from the controls illustrated the role of thinning on stem shape development. Although average volume increased for residual stems in thinned stands slightly more than in the controls (110% versus 106%), the treatment effect stand-level volume increment or stand-level total volume harvested (ten years after treatment) was not statistically significant. Moreover, at tree level, thinning did not significantly affect stem volume increment. However, radial growth increment significantly increased after treatment. Trees from commercially thinned stands showed a significantly higher growth increment along the lower first two-thirds of the stem. Response to thinning at tree level correlated strongly with the size and number of harvested competitors around a residual stem. We conclude that commercial thinning modified wood allocation rather than wood volume and did not affect taper and stem shape. These patterns of post-cutting growth are explained by wood allocation following thinning. After commercial thinning, growth increment is favored at the expense of height growth. As the treatment effect was found at the stem scale rather than at the stand scale, further research is needed in regard to commercial thinning treatments to investigate how to increase productivity at the stand scale.

Cyclic Yield Stability of Ley Farming System in Northern Quebec

Predicted climate change is a threat to dairy farming operations in northern Quebec. Soil conservation measures and the timeframe of crop management may contribute to reducing yield variability and also support dairy herd populations. Our objective was to compare annual and cyclic barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and forage yield stability for 3‐yr ley farming system (barley‐mixed, forage‐mixed, forage) over 24 yr of experimentation under contrasting soil conservation practices. Treatments were chisel or moldboard plowing, and mineral fertilization (MIN) or liquid dairy manure (LDM) applied cyclically (across eight 3‐yr cycles) at 85 to 209 kg LDM‐N ha−1 and 90 to 146 kg MIN‐N ha−1 to forage and 87 to 127 kg LDM‐N ha−1 and 70 kg MIN‐N ha−1 to barley. Yield stability assessment was initialized in 1993, 1994, and 1995 and ended in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively. While the cyclic assessment showed no significant effect of tillage practice, LDM outperformed MIN, confirming the benefits of manure‐based ley farming systems for dairy farming. Coefficients of variation ranged from 7.8% to 14.4% for barley grain yield, 14.4% to 18.7% for barley straw yield, and 11.8% to 15.3% for forage yield. Coefficients of variation were reduced by factors of 1.86 ± 0.57, 1.87 ± 0.24, and 2.00 ± 0.25 for grain, straw, and forage, respectively, using cyclic assessments. To face the more frequent extreme meteorological events predicted by regional climatic models, feed supply could be stabilized locally and regionally at cyclic rather than yearly timescales to support dairy farming.Core Ideas Long term 24‐year experiment comparing annual and cyclic grain and forage yield stability. Cyclic assessment of yield stability provide low coefficient of variation for grain, straw, and forages. Crop supply and storage could be managed on a cyclic, rather than yearly basis.

No evidence of inbreeding depression in fast declining herds of migratory caribou.

Identifying inbreeding depression early in small and declining populations is essential for management and conservation decisions. Correlations between heterozygosity and fitness (HFCs) provide a way to identify inbreeding depression without prior knowledge of kinship among individuals. In Northern Quebec and Labrador, the size of two herds of migratory caribou (Rivière-George, RG and Rivière-aux-Feuilles, RAF) has declined by one to two orders of magnitude in the last three decades. This raises the question of a possible increase in inbreeding depression originating from, and possibly contributing to, the demographic decline in those populations. Here, we tested for the association of genomic inbreeding indices (estimated with 22,073 SNPs) with body mass and survival in 400 caribou sampled in RG and RAF herds between 1996 and 2016. We found no association of individual heterozygosity or inbreeding coefficient with body mass or annual survival. Furthermore, those genomic inbreeding indices remained stable over the period monitored. These results suggest that the rapid and intense demographic decline of the herds did not cause inbreeding depression in those populations. Although we found no evidence for HFCs, if demographic decline continues, it is possible that such inbreeding depression would be triggered.

47 - Train the Trainer: Empowering Health-Care Workers to Enhance Diabetes Patient Care

Like many Indigenous peoples, the Cree communities of James Bay Northern Quebec have a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes (DM2) with a young age of onset. More than one-quarter of adults 20 years and older have DM2 with an average age at diagnosis being 42.2 years. Health-care workers (HCWs) on the territory have various levels of experience managing diabetes. The Cree are dispersed in 9 communities across a vast territory, which is a challenge to centralizing diabetes management structures.

Cycling and atmospheric exchanges of selenium in Canadian subarctic thermokarst ponds

The levels and speciation of dissolved, particulate and gaseous Se have been measured in five thermokarst ponds in a sporadic and discontinuous permafrost region of northern Quebec (Canada) during summer oxygen stratification. Evolution of Se concentrations with depth was investigated in sediment cores collected in three different ponds. The potential for inorganic Se transformation in natural pond waters was investigated by experimental incubations of isotopic species-specific tracers of selenite and selenate. Experimental and monitoring observation revealed that high dissolved carbon concentration, suspended particle matter concentration, heterotrophic activity and periphytic biofilms have a significant role in the formation of gaseous selenium species. In sediment, Se is mainly associated with organic matter in the concentration range 0.14–1.6 mg kg−1. Despite low outgassing rates of volatile Se toward the atmosphere (1–97 ng Se m−2 day−1), the large surface occupied by ponds in northern Canada may lead to important exchange rates (ca. 1 ton year−1) at the global scale. Detailed measurements of Se speciation, including volatile compounds, and its reactivity toward heterotrophic activity in selected thaw ponds from the Canadian Subarctic provides new insight to better constrain the biogeochemical pathways leading to Se removal from the water column via atmospheric gas exchange and sediment accumulation.

Exploring Community Mobilization in Northern Quebec: Motivators, Challenges, and Resilience in Action.

Nunavimmiut (people of the land) are the Indigenous peoples of the northern peninsula of the province of Quebec. Communities of Nunavik and its regional organizations have been making concerted efforts in implementing community‐based strategies to support family wellbeing. These community strategies are grounded in many of the values underpinning community psychology: favoring empowerment‐oriented approaches, fostering community capacity, and transforming organizational cultures to allow for new modes of interaction, as well as new policies and practices that are grounded in community and culture. Despite the growing support and expectation for community mobilization, there is still very little research on the processes and challenges to such mobilization. In this study, we explored the unique challenges and facilitators to community endeavors in northern Quebec in order to better understand the complex dynamics and the strengths that Inuit build upon. We first used a focused ethnographic approach in the context of a 5‐year community mobilization project in Nunavik. We then conducted 12 individual interviews and two small group interviews with Inuit working on community‐based wellbeing‐oriented mobilization projects in four additional communities. Results expose how sociogeographical realities and colonialism influence the process of community mobilization. They also highlight the values and motivational factors that lead community members to move beyond these influences.

Rare metal indicator minerals in bedrock and till at the Strange Lake peralkaline complex, Quebec and Labrador, Canada

A study of rare metal indicator minerals and glacial dispersal was carried out at the Strange Lake Zr – Y – heavy rare earth element deposit in northern Quebec and Labrador, Canada. The heavy mineral (>3.2 specific gravity) and mid-density (3.0–3.2 specific gravity) nonferromagnetic fractions of mineralized bedrock from the deposit and till up to 50 km down ice of the deposit were examined to determine the potential of using rare earth element and high fileld strength element indicator minerals for exploration. The deposit contains oxide, silicate, phosphate, and carbonate indicator minerals, some of which (cerianite, uraninite, fluorapatite, rhabdophane, thorianite, danburite, and aeschynite) have not been reported in previous bedrock studies of Strange Lake. Indicator minerals that could be useful in the exploration for similar deposits include Zr silicates (zircon, secondary gittinsite (CaZrSi2O7), and other hydrated Zr±Y±Ca silicates), pyrochlore ((Na,Ca)2Nb2O6(OH,F)), and thorite (Th(SiO4))/thorianite (ThO2) as well as rare earth element minerals monazite ((La,Ce,Y,Th)PO4), chevkinite ((Ce,La,Ca,Th)4(Fe,Mg)2(Ti,Fe)3Si4O22), parisite (Ca(Ce,La)2(CO3)3F2), bastnaesite (Ce(CO3)F), kainosite (Ca2(Y,Ce)2Si4O12(CO3)·H2O), and allanite ((Ce,Ca,Y)2(Al,Fe)3(SiO4)3(OH)). Rare metal indicator minerals can be added to the expanding list of indicator minerals that can be recovered from surficial sediments and used to explore for a broad range of deposit types and commodities that already include diamonds and precious, base, and strategic metals.

New Approaches for Removing the Effect of Water Damping on SMAP Freeze/Thaw Mapping

The Northern Quebec landscape is typically covered by numerous lakes. The lowest emissivity of water bodies dominates the brightness temperature (Tb) data measured over this region. Thus, it is necessary to eliminate the effect of water bodies from Tb measurements. The primary objective of this study is to develop two approaches to correct the Soil Moisture Active Passive brightness temperature (SMAP L1C), collected between January and December of 2016, for the damping effect of water bodies within each 36 km by 36 km pixel. The first algorithm normalizes Tb with the intercept of its linear regression versus the water fraction of each pixel. A second algorithm used Tb regression with water fraction by vegetation classes for each scene. Surface soil temperature and moisture measured near Umiujaq were used to validate Tb correction. The proposed Tb corrections resolve the divergence observed with SMAP standard correction when the water fraction is higher than 20%. Corrected brightness temperature is then tested for mapping the soil freeze/thaw state using the Normalized Polarization Ratio. Agreements of up to 90% (ascending orbit) and 79% (descending orbit) were reached for the proposed approach versus 64% and 50% for the existing approach.

Patients’ perspectives on integrated oral healthcare in a northern Quebec Indigenous primary health care organisation: a qualitative study

ObjectivePatient-centred care is considered to be an important element in the evaluation of integrated healthcare and has been effective in addressing oral health disparities. This study explored the patients’ perspectives...

Assessment of Diatom Assemblages in Close Proximity to Mining Activities in Nunavik, Northern Quebec (Canada)

Nunavik (Northern Quebec, Canada) is experiencing a mining boom. While several studies have been conducted in the region in relation to climate change, the effects of mining have received much less attention. In this study, we explored the use of biofilms in natural streams as an indicator of potential stress on living organisms caused by metal contamination from nickel mining activities. More specifically, we assessed diatom assemblages and the presence of teratologies (morphologic abnormalities) as a response to metals in streams located in close proximity to mining sites. Metal concentrations (as well as other cations), anions and pH values varied markedly among stations. Different diatom assemblage structures (four biotypes, i.e., groups of samples with similar diatom species composition) were observed depending on the level and the type of contamination. The frequency of diatom teratologies was higher in metal contaminated sites. The present study lays the foundation for bioassessment of metal contamination in low Arctic streams using diatom-based approaches, and will serve as a point in time reference for future evaluation of ecosystems degradation or recovery in Nunavik.