Government giving $22M to map Arctic sea floor

IQALUIT, NUNAVUT— The federal government says it’s making safety improvements for northern shipping following an audit last year that found mapping services to be lacking.

The government announced Friday that $22 million will be spent over five years to improve the safety of marine transportation in the Arctic.

A news release says some of the money is to buy and install four multi-beam sonar systems aboard Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers for sea-floor surveying.

An audit by Canada’s environment commissioner in 2014 noted the area has been “inadequately surveyed and charted,” with some Arctic maps dating to the early 1970s.

The report noted that growth in marine shipping in the Arctic has meant a spike in demand for more accurate, detailed surveys and maps.

Coast guard data indicates that between 2002 and 2013, there were about 100 small, mostly oil and gasoline spills in the Arctic.

“Our enhanced ability to map Canada’s Arctic waters will result in better charts and navigational information, leading to improved safety for mariners in the North,” Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said in a news release Friday.

In delivering her report to the House of Commons last October, Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand said many charts available to mariners are not current or reliable.

Gelfand said the opening of just one mine project could increase traffic significantly. Ottawa responded by promising to prioritize hydrographic surveying efforts, review navigational aid systems and consider “modern and efficient solutions” for coast guard service delivery.

The government said Friday it will increase the Coast Guard Auxiliary presence in remote locations to improve emergency response and search-and-rescue capacity.