Nunavut Research Articles

The economic feasibility of renewable energy for off-grid mining deployment

As renewable energy technologies emerge, it is important to determine the economic feasibility of introducing such technologies at mines. We present a case study of a mine in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where extreme climatic conditions exist. It was determined that nearly 47,500L of diesel could be saved annually during the exploration phase with the proposed installations applied in the residential facility of the mine. This represents a savings of approximately 10% in diesel consumption relative to the base case. Solar thermal technologies also were considered for the residential facility, with a payback period of approximately 5 months. Simple energy efficiency strategies can have a payback period as short as 2.3 months. Reductions in energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions are estimated at 25% by pursuing the proposed efficiency strategies. If the mining company invests in wind turbines for the processing plant, approximately 35 million litres of diesel could be saved annually during the extraction phase. In addition, 9.7% of the carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced during the exploration phase and 50% during the extraction phase by utilizing renewable energy sources.

Creating Able Human Beings: Social Studies Education in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, 1969 to the Present

RésuméAprès le transfert de responsabilité en matière d’éducation dans le nord du Canada par le gouvernement fédéral aux Territoires du Nord-Ouest (TNO) en 1969-1970, le département d’Éducation des Territoires rend, dès lors, obligatoire un programme scolaire axé sur les identités linguistiques et culturelles des élèves dénés et inuits afin de contrer les approches intentionnellement assimilatrices des écoles fédérales antérieures, pensionnats religieux ou écoles publiques. Cet article s’intéresse à l’aspect social des programmes d’études durant les trente années suivantes dans les TNO et de 1999 à 2013 pour le Nunavut. Après consultation de documents pertinents, l’auteure soutient que les programmes d’études instaurés dans le Nord durant cette période de 45 ans reposaient sur la culture autochtone (culturally responsive), mais sans grande conviction. Elle suggère également un nouveau terme « culturally founded education » à savoir une éducation authentiquement autochtone en référence à l’intégration des programmes développés par les peuples aborigènes du Nord d’après leurs propres perspectives culturelles. La conclusion propose des actions concrètes pour garantir que les programmes d’études soient en lien avec la population et préparent adéquatement les élèves à s’impliquer d’une manière significative dans le monde complexe du XXIe siècle. Abstract Upon transfer of responsibility for schooling in Canada’s north from the federal government to the Northwest Territories in 1969-70, the territorial Department of Education immediately mandated curriculum whose central focus was on Dene and Inuit students’ cultural and linguistic identities, in order to counteract the intentionally assimilationist approaches of previous federal and church residential and day schools. This article examines social studies curricula over the next 30 years in the NWT, and from 1999-2013 in Nunavut. Reviewing relevant documents, I argue that social studies curricula developed in the north during these 45 years have featured culturally responsive education, but did not accomplish this consistently. I also suggest a new term, culturally founded education, to refer to integrated curricula developed by northern Aboriginal peoples from their own cultural perspectives. The conclusion recommends future actions to ensure social studies education continues to reflect the people it serves and prepares students to make meaningful contributions in the complex world of the twenty-first century.

Type-specific human papillomavirus infections and Pap test findings in Inuit and non-Inuit women in Nunavut, Canada.

To determine the prevalence and distribution of type-specific human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and their association with cytological outcomes in women living in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Surveillance of type-specific HPV infection was conducted. Cervical specimens of all Inuit, First Nations and non-Aboriginal women in Nunavut who presented for a Pap test in any clinical setting between January 2008 and March 2009 were tested for HPV infection. The association between high-grade cervical lesions and HPV type was also examined. HPV results were available for 4,043 individual women (13 to 77 years). Of those with known ethnicity (N=4,033), 89.2% were Inuit, 0.4% were First Nations and 10.4% were non-Aboriginal. First Nations women were included in all analyses except those making comparisons by ethnicity, due to the small number of individuals in this group. Overall, 29.9% of women were found to be infected with HPV (any type) and 19.9% with any high-risk HPV (type 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58 or 59). Most often, women were infected with HPV 16 (6.4%) followed by HPV 31 (3.1%). There were no statistically significant differences between Inuit and non-Aboriginal (reference group) women 20 years of age and older regarding the prevalence of any HPV (odds ratios (OR): 1.19, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.92-1.54), high-risk HPV (OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.78-1.44) or HPV 16 and 18 (OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.51-1.27). HPV 31 was the only type that was significantly more frequent among Inuit than non-Aboriginal women (OR: 3.95, 95% CI: 1.24-12.54). There was no difference in the overall occurrence of cervical abnormalities between non-Aboriginal and Inuit women (p-value = 0.17). HPV 16 was strongly associated with cervical dysplasia, being present in 50.9% of specimens with a high-grade lesion. HPV is a significant public health issue in the territory of Nunavut. The findings presented in this article are similar to those in other studies among Inuit women, with prevalence of HPV being higher than in studies conducted among non-Inuit women in other regions of Canada. These results provide a baseline of HPV prevalence that precedes the introduction of the Nunavut HPV Immunization Program in 2010 and will allow for future evaluation. The high prevalence of HPV infection among women living in Nunavut can be reduced through immunization and associated high-grade cervical abnormalities mitigated by regular cervical screening.

Prevalence and Characteristics Associated with Breastfeeding Initiation Among Canadian Inuit from the 2007-2008 Nunavut Inuit Child Health Survey.

We aimed to determine the prevalence of, and factors associated with, breastfeeding initiation in Canadian Inuit. We used data from the Nunavut Inuit Child Health Survey, a population-based, cross-sectional survey conducted in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Inuit children aged 3-5 years in 2007 or 2008 were randomly selected for the survey. Select household, maternal, infant and community characteristics were collected from the child's primary caregiver and entered into logistic regression models as potential predictors of breastfeeding initiation. Analyses were repeated in a subgroup of caregiver reports from biological mothers. The reported prevalence of breastfeeding initiation was 67.6% (95% CI 62.4-72.8) overall and 85.1% (95% CI 80.2-90.1) in a subgroup of caregiver reports from biological mothers. Adjusted prevalence odds ratios (pOR) indicate the primary caregiver was an important determinant of breastfeeding (adopted parent vs. biological mother: pOR = 0.03, 95% CI 0.01-0.07; other vs. biological mother: pOR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.14-0.74). Maternal smoking during pregnancy and having access to a community birthing facility were also potentially important, but not statistically significant (p > 0.05). In conclusion, data from the Nunavut Inuit Child Health Survey indicate breastfeeding is initiated for more than two-thirds of children, but rates are below the national average and this may be one of several pathways to poor health outcomes documented in many Inuit communities. Considered in the particular context of birthing facilities utilization and postnatal care arrangements in Inuit communities, these results suggest that increasing breastfeeding initiation will require health interventions that effectively engage all types of primary caregivers.

Eyewitness to a Whale Hunt: Theory, Event, and Apology in the Inuit North

The paper revisits a whale hunt that took place in the vicinity of the hamlet of Pangnirtung, Nunavut, in 1998. An eyewitness to the hunt, I wrote a Master’s thesis, “The Bowhead Whale Hunt at Kekerten, Nunavut Territory (July 1998),” giving a chronicle of its duration and preparation. The hunt was undertaken by the Inuit as a way of dealing with a haunted piece of their past: the catastrophic aftermath of the presence of European whalers in the region in the 19th and early 20th centuries, which deeply challenged both the physical and cultural survival of the Inuit of the Eastern Arctic. The hunt was carried out at a significant site of memory/ lieu de mémoire: a former whaling station in proximity to the community. An important aspect of the Pangnirtung hunt was the assertion of Inuit collective identity in the claim of sovereignty over the management of bowhead whale stock in the months preceding the creation of Nunavut, in April 1999. Yet departing from conventional interpretations that would understand the Inuit as the recipients of a “gift” in a cycle of forgiveness and restitution (apology-as-discourse), I argue that the event itself was not the result, but the very substance of apology. Bringing the past forward into the present, the Inuit of Pangnirtung introduced an event as a critical requirement in undertaking the work of apology.

Trajectories of women's homelessness in Canada's 3 northern territories

BackgroundRepairing the Holes in the Net was a 2-year, multilevel action research project designed to inform the development of culturally appropriate and gender-specific services for northern women who are homeless or marginally housed and who face mental health and substance use concerns. The study was designed to learn about the barriers and supports experienced by homeless women in the North when accessing mental health care, shelter, housing and other services; and to inform the work of northern service providers and policy advocates in a position to implement adjustments in their praxis.MethodsThis article describes the trajectories of women's service access and their ideas for service improvement from 61 qualitative, semi-structured interviews conducted with homeless women in Whitehorse, Yukon (YT), Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NT), and Iqualit, Nunavut (NU).ResultsUnresolved trauma, poverty and social exclusion, inability to find and maintain housing and ineffective services emerged as interconnected and multifaceted challenges related to women's service engagement. In the face of these challenges, women displayed significant resilience and resistance, and offered important ideas for service improvement.ConclusionsThe 4 interconnected systemic challenges identified in the research, coupled with specific ideas for change cited by the resilient homeless women interviewed, offer points of entry to improve service policy and delivery. Implementing trauma-informed approaches emerged as a key example of how access to, and quality of, services could be improved for homeless women in the North.

The feasibility of the interferon gamma release assay and predictors of discordance with the tuberculin skin test for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in a remote Aboriginal community.

BackgroundThe tuberculin skin test (TST) is the standard test used to screen for latent TB infection (LTBI) in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut. Interferon gamma release assays (IGRA) are T cell blood-based assays to diagnose LTBI. The Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is part of the routine immunization schedule in Nunavut. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility, and predictors of discordance between the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) and the IGRA assay in a medically under-serviced remote arctic Aboriginal population.MethodsBoth the TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold (Qiagen group) IGRA tests were offered to people in their homes as part of a public health campaign aimed at high TB risk residential areas in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada. Feasibility was measured by the capacity of the staff to do the test successfully as measured by the proportion of results obtained.ResultsIn this population of predominantly young Inuit who were mostly BCG vaccinated, the use of IGRA for the diagnosis of LTBI was feasible. IGRA testing resulted in more available test results reaching patients (95.6% vs 90.9% p = 0.02) but took longer (median 8 days (IGRA) vs 2 days (TST), p value <0.0001). 44/256 participants (17.2%) had discordant results. Multivariable regression analysis suggested that discordant results were most likely to have received multiple BCG vaccinations (RR 20.03, 95% CI, 3.94–101.82)), followed by BCG given post infancy (RR 8.13, 95% CI, 2.54–26.03)) and then to a lesser degree when BCG was given in infancy (RR 6.43, 95% CI, 1.72–24.85).InterpretationIGRA is feasible in Iqaluit, Nunavut, a remote Arctic community. IGRA testing results in more test results available to patients compared to TST. This test could result in fewer patients requiring latent TB treatment among those previously vaccinated with BCG in a region with limited public health human resources.

Discovery of organic-rich black shale xenolith from kimberlite on the Hall Peninsula, Nunavut and its implication for petroleum potential in Cumberland Sound

The Chidliak kimberlite province covers an area of 40 × 70 km on the eastern Hall Peninsula, southeastern Baffin Island, Nunavut, between Frobisher Bay and the Cumberland Sound (Fig. 1). The eastern Hall Peninsula is an Archean gneissic terrain, into which all the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous aged kimberlites (156.7–139.1 Ma; Heaman et al., 2012) intruded. At present, there is no consolidated Phanerozoic sedimentary cover on the Hall Peninsula; however, a great number of sedimentary rock xenoliths yielding conodont microfossils were entrained by the kimberlites. These xenoliths suggest that Upper Ordovician and Lower Silurian strata with a total thickness about 270–305 m were present on the Hall Peninsula at least until Early Cretaceous time (Zhang and Pell, 2013; 2014). Figure 1 A). Simplified geologic map of the Foxe Basin and vicinity (modified from Wheeler et al., 1997), showing the location of the Chidliak project area (red polygon), the drill hole CHI-482-10-DD01 with the black shale xenolith (red star), suspect natural hydrocarbon seep (yellow dots; location data from Budkewitsch et al., 2013) and Paleozoic (black cross) and Mesozoic (red cross) cores collected by shallow drillings during 1970s and 1980s (location data from Zhang, 2013a). B). Enlargement of the area enclosed by black rectangle in (A). Cumberland Sound, to the northeast, is partially underlain by Cretaceous clastic and Paleozoic carbonate sedimentary rocks (Fig. 1; MacLean et al., 1986). On the sea surface of Cumberland Sound, 28 suspect natural hydrocarbon seep occurrences were identified (Fig. 1; Budkewitsch et al., 2013), indicating an active petroleum system may occur in the sound; however, the source rocks remain uncertain. A rare black shale xenolith (Fig. 2A) was discovered from a kimberlite on the Hall Peninsula. Given the geologic and geographic position of the peninsula, it provides valuable evidence about the possible existence of an active …

Taima (stop) TB: the impact of a multifaceted TB awareness and door-to-door campaign in residential areas of high risk for TB in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

BackgroundThe incidence rate of active tuberculosis (TB) disease in the Canadian Territory of Nunavut has shown a rising trend over the past 10 years. In 2010 it was 60 times greater than the national incidence rate. The objective of the Taima (translates to “stop” in Inuktitut) TB study was to implement and evaluate a public health campaign to enhance existing TB prevention efforts in Nunavut.MethodsA TB awareness campaign followed by a door-to-door screening campaign was carried out in Iqaluit, Nunavut. The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness about TB, and to provide in-home screening and treatment for people living in residential areas at high risk for TB. Screening was based on geographic location rather than on individual risk factors.ResultsDuring the general awareness campaign an increase in the number of people who requested TB testing at the local public health clinic was observed. However, this increase was not sustained following cessation of the awareness campaign. Targeted TB screening in high risk residential areas in Iqaluit resulted in 224 individuals having TSTs read, and detection of 42 previously unidentified cases of latent TB, (overall yield of 18.8% or number needed to screen = 5.3). These cases of latent TB infection (LTBI) were extra cases that had not been picked up by traditional screening practices (34% relative increase within the community). This resulted in a 33% relative increase in the completion of LTBI treatment within the community. The program directly and indirectly identified 5/17 new cases of active TB disease in Iqaluit during the study period (29.5% of all incident cases).ConclusionsWhile contact tracing investigations remain a cornerstone of TB prevention, additional awareness, screening, and treatment programs like Taima TB may contribute to the successful control of TB in Aboriginal communities.

Development of radio dramas for health communication pilot intervention in Canadian Inuit communities.

A mixed-methods approach was used to develop a culturally appropriate health intervention over radio within the Inuit community of Pangnirtung, Nunavut (NU), Canada. The radio dramas were developed, recorded and tested pre-intervention through the use of Participatory Process and informed by the extended elaboration likelihood model (EELM) for education-communication. The radio messages were tested in two focus groups (n = 4 and n = 5) to determine fidelity of the radio dramas to the EELM theory. Focus group feedback identified that revisions needed to be made to two characteristics required of educational programmes by the EELM theorem: first, the quality of the production was improved by adding Inuit youth recorded music and second, the homophily (relatability of characters) of radio dramas was improved by re-recording the dramas with voices of local youth who had been trained in media communication studies. These adjustments would not have been implemented had pre-intervention testing of the radio dramas not taken place and could have reduced effectiveness of the overall intervention. Therefore, it is highly recommended that media tools for health communication/education be tested with the intended target audience before commencement of programmes. Participatory Process was identified to be a powerful tool in the development and sustainability of culturally appropriate community health programming.

Mental health services for Nunavut children and youth: evaluating a telepsychiatry pilot project

This study examines the delivery of psychiatric consultation services using videoconferencing technology to health and mental health workers in the Nunavut territory of Canada. The research provides insights into the TeleLink Mental Health Program and the delivery of professional-to-professional program consultations and continuing education seminars. Participant observation of 12 program consultations and four continuing education sessions was conducted. Individual interviews were conducted with the consulting psychiatrist and the lead program coordinator in Nunavut. As well, a focus group was held with Nunavut workers who participated in the televideo sessions. The study found a number of factors that facilitated or hindered the process and content of a consultation-based telepsychiatry program and its effect on building capacity among frontline staff. Four main themes emerged related to the delivery of psychiatric services via televideo: gaining access, ensuring culturally appropriate services, providing relevant continuing education, and offering stable and confidential technology. Live interactive videoconferencing technology is an innovative and effective way of delivering specialized mental health services to professionals working in remote areas of Nunavut. Study results provide important strategies for expanding this approach to other jurisdictions in Nunavut and other Inuit regions.

Error disclosure how to say, "I'm sorry.".

Error disclosure how to say, "I'm sorry.".

Quantifying the impact of small variations in fracture geometric characteristics on peak rock mass properties at a mining project using a coupled DFN–DEM approach

Using field data from Agnico-Eagle’s Meliadine gold project located in Nunavut Territory in northern Canada, a coupled DFN–DEM approach was used to evaluate the rock mass mechanical properties at REV. Variability in the structural data gathered on site and the variability associated with the stochastic modeling process have an impact on discrete fracture model (DFN) properties. Through a sensitivity analysis, this paper assesses the influence of a variation in the DFN model input parameters’ values on the rock mass peak properties – uniaxial compressive strength, Young modulus and Poisson ratio. The results not only highlight the possibilities associated with DFN–DEM modeling in characterizing rock mass properties at the engineering scale, they also provide a systematic way to assess the critical structural parameters controlling the rock mass properties.

Unequal exchange: western economic logic and Inuit/Qablunaat research relationships

ABSTRACTFor some time, Inuit have made it clear that they wish to play a more substantial role in research with implications for themselves and their territory. To understand how researchers communicate and relate to each other, cultural analysis is often employed. Although cultural differences are relevant to understanding problems in the conduct of research, limiting differences to these realities is overly deterministic and essentialist. Many differences arising in the research process are products of social constructions found in Canadian culture and, increasingly, in Inuit communities. The paper re-examines the complexities of cross-class relations, focusing on how different relations to money, as a proxy for other relations characteristic of the capitalist mode of production, consumption and commodification, impact Inuit interaction with western-educated researchers. Using the Nanisiniq Arviat History Project in the community of Arviat, Nunavut Territory Canada, as a case study, the paper is a qualitative analysis of miscommunication resulting from cross-class differences. The Nanisiniq project was a two-year participatory action research project bringing Inuit youth and elders together to rediscover, interpret and apply knowledge of their history and culture to contemporary social issues affecting them.

Geographic influences on fine-scale, hierarchical population structure in northern Canadian populations of anadromous Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus)

Assessments of fine-scale population struc- ture in natural populations are important for understand- ing aspects of ecology, life history variation and evolu- tionary history and can provide novel insights into re- source management. Although Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus, represent one of the most culturally and com- mercially important salmonids in the Canadian Arctic, fine-scale assessments of genetic structure in northern populations of this species are rare. In this study, we assessedpopulationstructure inanadromousArcticchar from Cumberland Sound in Canada's Nunavut territory using 18 microsatellite loci. Specifically, we aimed at identifying potential habitat and landscape/geographic features influencing genetic variation and population structure and resolving potential barriers to gene flow. Overall population structure was moderate (global FST and Jost's D of 0.042 and 0.236 respectively) and sig- nificant among all sampling locations. Habitat and land- scape/geographic features, with the exception of fluvial (shoreline) distance, appeared to have little influence on genetic variation and population structure. Bayesian clustering revealed a hierarchical model of population structure, in which the 14 sampling locations were nested within two distinct clusters corresponding to the north and south shores of Cumberland Sound. Both isolation-by-distance analysis and calculations of mean dispersal distance suggest dispersal and gene flow is highest among proximate locations. Finally, several pu- tative barriers to gene flow were identified and one, a putative barrier separating north and south Cumberland Sound, was consistent with the hierarchical STRUC- TURE results. Our results suggest that the current river-specific management of commercially harvested Arctic char is appropriate. Overall, we provide further insights into the evolution of genetic variation and pop- ulation structure in iteroparous, Arctic salmonids.

‘Government closer to the people’: on decentralization in Nunavut

This article is based on a reading of a series of policy documents written by consulting firms regarding decentralization in the Northwest Territories and the Nunavut Territory. There have been three main reviews of decentralization conducted in 2002, 2009, and 2011. The article analyses the philosophical and operational aspects of decentralization with its origins in the creation of the Government of Nunavut beginning with the policy path taken in the 1995 Footprints in New Snow documents published by Nunavut Implementation Commission. Furthermore, the article makes the claim that philosophical aspects of the project conflicted with operational aspects associated with decentralized governance but overall, it argues in defense of decentralization as an innovative form of democratic theory that is especially sensitive to the unique political geography of Nunavut. The decentralized governance model adopted in Nunavut is unfortunately not well understood outside a small circle of northern governance experts, but it does provide broad insights and lessons for theorists and practitioners interested in the strengths and challenges of local government innovation in Canada. Decentralization – in Nunavut's case basically defined as an initiative aimed to deconcentrate government outside of the capital city of Iqaluit – is a unique philosophy or art of government that comprises features sensitive to specific characteristics of the Nunavut Territory in terms of territory, ideology, and population.

A framework for examining adaptation readiness

Adaptation readiness is proposed as a complimentary concept to adaptive capacity that captures the strength and existence of governance structures and policy processes which determine whether adaptation takes place. As such, adaptation readiness is concerned with examining actual experiences with planning for adaptation and seeks to characterize whether human systems are prepared and ready to ‘do adaptation.’ We propose a framework for evaluating readiness, identifying 6 overarching factors essential for adaptation taking place: political leadership, institutional organization, adaptation decision making and stakeholder engagement, availability of usable science, funding for adaptation, and public support for adaptation. For each readiness factor we identify potential indicators, data sources, and considerations for analysis, outlining approaches for quantitative scoring and qualitative examination. We briefly illustrate application of the framework using an example from the territory of Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic, a region projected to experience some of the most dramatic changes in climate globally this century. The framework provides a systematic approach for assessing adaptation readiness, and can be used – in combination with other approaches – to inform the identification and prioritization of adaptation support, guide resources to areas where need is greatest, and serve as a proxy for adaptation tracking.

Have geographical influences and changing abundance led to sub-population structure in the Ahiak caribou herd, Nunavut, Canada?

We examined the premise that changing abundance and environmental conditions influence the seasonal dispersion and distribution of migratory tundra caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus). The Ahiak herd’s (north-central Nunavut Territory, Canada) calving shifted from dispersed on islands to gregarious calving on the mainland coast. As abundance further increased, the calving ground elongated east and west such that we proposed a longitudinal climate gradient. As well, the calving ground’s east and west ends are different distances from the tree-line, which dips south closer to Hudson Bay. We proposed that whether caribou winter on the tundra or within boreal forest and the different climate across the long calving ground could contribute to differential survival and productivity such that sub-population structure would result. At the scale of the individual cows (identified through satellite-collars), we did not find inter-annual spatial fidelity to either the western or eastern parts of the calving ground. At the population scale (aerial surveys of calving distribution), we also did not find discontinuities in calving distribution. The spatial association of individual cows during calving compared with their association during the rut was inconsistent among years, but overall, cows that calve together, rut together. At this time and with the available evidence, we could not infer sub-population structure from shifts in dispersion and distribution as influenced by geography and changes in abundance for the Ahiak herd.

The cost of lower respiratory tract infections hospital admissions in the Canadian Arctic

BackgroundInuit infants who reside in the Nunavut (NU) regions of Arctic Canada have extremely high rates of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) associated with significant health expenditures, but the costs in other regions of Arctic Canada have not been documented.ObjectiveThis prospective surveillance compares, across most of Arctic Canada, the rates and costs associated with LRTI admissions in infants less than 1 year of age, and the days of hospitalization and costs adjusted per live birth.DesignThis was a hospital-based surveillance of LRTI admissions of infants less than 1 year of age, residing in Northwest Territories (NT), the 3 regions of Nunavut (NU); [Kitikmeot (KT), Kivalliq (KQ) and Qikiqtani (QI)] and Nunavik (NK) from 1 January 2009 to 30 June 2010. Costs were obtained from the territorial or regional governments and hospitals, and included transportation, hospital stay, physician fees and accommodation costs. The rates of LRTI hospitalizations, days of hospitalization and associated costs were calculated per live birth in each of the 5 regions.ResultsThere were 513 LRTI admissions during the study period. For NT, KT, KQ, QI and NK, the rates of LRTI hospitalization per 1000 live births were 38, 389, 230, 202 and 445, respectively. The total days of LRTI admission per live birth were 0.25, 3.3, 2.6, 1.7 and 3 for the above regions. The average cost per live birth for LRTI admission for these regions was $1,412, $22,375, $14,608, $8,254 and $10,333. The total cost for LRTI was $1,498,232 in NT, $15,662,968 in NU and $3,874,881 in NK. Medical transportation contributed to a significant proportion of the costs.ConclusionLRTI admission rates in NU and Nunavik are much higher than that in NT and remain among the highest rates globally. The costs of these admissions are exceptionally high due to the combination of very high rates of admission, very expensive medical evacuations and prolonged hospitalizations. Decreasing the rates of LRTI in this population could result in substantial health savings.

The Raw and the Cold: Five English Sailors in Sixteenth-Century Nunavut

The Raw and the Cold: Five English Sailors in Sixteenth-Century Nunavut