The way of life in the north is under threat

Did you know that 80 per cent of Canadians live in urban areas and 90 per cent live within 200 kilometres of the American border?

This puts an end to the myth of Canadians being rugged outdoors people who live in the wilderness. Instead, we are a nation of city dwellers hugging the American border.

Canada is a huge land with a population concentrated in the southern part. As prime minister Mackenzie King put it, “Canada has too much geography.” The northern part forms a huge and beautiful land that contains our past and the spirits of our ancestors.

Before European contact, the population of Turtle Island was much more homogeneous than today. The northern forests were a rich land of food, medicines and other natural resources. The fur trade further added to the economy and lifestyle of the people.

But the rivers that once formed the transportation corridors were gradually replaced by roads and railway lines and once thriving northern communities became remote and removed from the mainstream.

Several weeks ago, I attended the National Conference of Remote Communities held in Edmonton. The topics under discussion included issues and problems that are totally foreign to most urban Canadians. For example, many teachers and nursing staff stay only long enough to get a better job in the south so the communities are constantly short-staffed.

Climate change is having a devastating impact. In the summer, forest fires are destroying the land and, in the winter, the warm weather has changed the ability to travel over the ice. This year, groups of northern communities in Manitoba and Ontario have declared states of emergency because the winter roads are not completed and, in some cases, won't be this year.

The chief of Sachigo Lake First Nation in Ontario stated that the ice road across their lake was twice as long as the Confederation Bridge that connects Prince Edward Island with the mainland. Every year they must create the road at an ever-increasing cost for a shrinking amount of time.

Numerous communities experienced the same issue and this year, while the roads are built, the ice is not thick enough to support heavy trucks. In some cases, they can only truck in one-quarter loads. The result is that gasoline costs are skyrocketing to about $3 to $4 per litre and building supplies for homes and infrastructure are marooned outside the winter roads. Groceries must be flown in, adding to the already burdensome costs.

Air transportation is the most expensive way to travel in the north, but for many it is the only alternative. One resident of Fond du Lac, Sask., said that a return airplane ticket to Saskatoon is $1,800. This makes outside travel prohibitive for many.

One conference participant pointed out that in the south, one could take a flight to Cancun, Mexico, for the same amount or less.

Also, last summer's forest fires created devastation and disruption. Chief Conroy Sewepagaham of the Little Red River First Nation, located on the Peace River in northern Alberta, said his community of 7,600 people in three communities lost 300 homes in last summer's fires and his people had to be evacuated at considerable expense.

In addition to the damage to homes and infrastructure, the evacuation of people to the cities creates damage to the health of the community. Several leaders pointed out that the serious drug problems in their communities began after the people were evacuated. Some of the evacuees were introduced to cheap drugs like meth and they brought their addiction home.

Remote living has a world of differences. Students must leave home to attend high school in southern cities, a simple medical procedure might cost the patient several trips to a southern hospital and any longer stay means loneliness because the family can't afford the airfare and living costs.

But things are changing fast. Populations are growing rapidly, like the Indigenous population explosion across the country. All-weather roads are becoming a conduit for drugs and alcohol from the south.

Global warming and a growing population are changing the face of the north, and the rest of the country must wake up and defend the land and way of life that defines Canada.