Nunavut

Yeah most people have only barely heard of this place.  Basically the Canadian Northern Territories eastern part that was split out 12 years ago.  A tiny (29,000) population an incredibly harsh climate and really far from the beaten track.  From Montreal it’s a 5 hour flight with a connection. The last road north ends at James Bay project, nearly 500 km from the southern border.  There are no roads between the communities (distance and cost).  Nunavut is Land area 1.6x the size of India.  

The Globe and Mail has a fascinating series on the territory – discovered while reading the Economist… Saddening is the level of despair, extreme binge drinking, low education standards (or even completion rate) and massive unemployment.  Although I didn’t live in Canada when the region was formed, it remains that a territory constituted I remember wondering what was the benefits of creating this new territory. 

Turns out that those who runt he place agree, that Nunavut has been a disaster, the idea to create a specific administrative zone for the Innu people sounded good, but the reality is that with extremely low education levels it is very difficult to fill the job openings for the local population.  Moreover, the education system allows for student to graduate with very low standard (High school graduate but functional illiterates)

Those who decide to make their life in such a region, by choice, and to serve the local community deserve high praise.  Although the Innu peoples’ way of life was destroyed more than a century ago (hunting and fishing) and that the life expectancy has risen dramatically from 35 years to 60 years, theirs is not a happy lot.  Canada has wrong these people robbing them of their culture and language (Canada instituted “Residential Schools” where Innu children were taken from their home and forbidden from speaking the own language).  Unfortunately, the damage has now been done, and there are few obvious options; unable to attract good teachers, and the lack of any real job prospects (aside from working for the government) means that their lot will continue to be difficult.  Some communities are experimenting with a return to their roots (hunting and gathering) as an alternative – but it also means that as a population their life is that of a museum piece, which I personally find extremely sad.

Read the article, fascinating