Nunavut Premier extends condolences after 3 deaths in Pond Inlet
"Like many Nunavummiut, I am heartbroken by the tragic events that have shaken your community," Akeeagok said in a statement Saturday.
The territory's coroner said Friday that his office is investigating the deaths, but that it would be inappropriate to share details at this point and that the report would become public once completed.
Akeeagok said the Nunavut government has mobilized all available resources to those affected.
Nunavut government spokesperson Casey Lessard said in an email that health workers and virtual mental health support is already being offered to affected residents.
"To the residents of Pond Inlet: please know that the entire territory stands with you," Akeeagok said. "You are not alone. We will walk with you through this tragedy and support your healing in the days and weeks ahead."
If you or someone you know in Nunavut is struggling, the following resources may help:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
28 minutes ago
- CBC
Wildfires show why CBC needs public safety mandate, McGill research centre says
The wildfires that are flaring up across Canada again are one of the reasons public safety should be added to CBC/Radio-Canada's mandate, a new report from a research centre at McGill University argues. The report says other public media around the world are incorporating national emergency preparedness and crisis response into their role, and recommends that aspect of the CBC's mandate be formalized and strengthened. "For us in Canada, wildfires and floods have sort of crept up on us in the last five years as part of an everyday reality," said Jessica Johnson, a senior fellow at McGill University's Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, who co-authored the report released Wednesday. "They were always a reality if you were living in heavily forested areas. But now the smoke from some parts is affecting the whole country and even our neighbours." On Monday and Tuesday, special air-quality statements caused by wildfire smoke were in effect in many areas of the country, with the government warning residents to consider limiting time outdoors and watch for symptoms of smoke exposure. Thousands of people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta have been forced out of their homes this spring and summer due to the wildfires. The report says previous research that looked at false information during wildfires in Canada found that on social media, "influential right-wing and anti-establishment groups blamed arson by green terrorists and the government for the fires, which further fuelled a distrust in the media in the moments when accurate information was critically important." Johnson said in the interview that "if there's misinformation online that's telling people it's just a hoax, you don't need to evacuate, that puts people's lives at risk." Fighting misinformation, disinformation There are also wider concerns about misinformation. Facebook, a platform many have come to rely on for information, blocks news content in Canada, while some Canadians are increasingly turning to generative AI for information, even though such systems can make mistakes and provide false information. "We've lost a lot of the healthy sources in addition to the arrival of the unreliable sources of information," Johnson said. While some countries in recent years have been changing the mandates of their public media in response to the climate crisis, she explained, others have been doing it in response to security concerns — for instance, Baltic countries looking at their proximity to Russia. The head of the recent public inquiry into foreign interference concluded that misinformation and disinformation are an existential threat to Canada's democracy, Johnson noted. "So you start putting it all together and you realize public media starts to look not like a nice to have. It starts to look like a part of your communications infrastructure," Johnson said. WATCH | Wildfire on the Bonavista Peninsula in N.L. burns out of control : Wildfire near Chance Harbour, N.L., continues to burn out of control 21 hours ago A wildfire on the Bonavista Peninsula has grown to 1,200 hectares overnight, making it the largest active wildfire in Newfoundland. An evacuation order was issued for people with cabins in the area on Monday, and remains in place as the fire continues to burn out of control. During this year's federal election, the Liberals promised to increase the CBC's funding by an initial $150 million annually, and to make a number of changes to its mandate. That includes adding "the clear and consistent transmission of life-saving information during emergencies." Johnson said it's important to ensure that the CBC isn't just repeating information provided by the government, but that it's able to question and hold the government to account. Local partnerships Another key element is ensuring the public broadcaster has the ability to do the work it's tasked with, especially at the local level. Johnson gave the example of residents in an area facing a wildfire, who should be able to find information about potential evacuations affecting their community, instead of media reports being focused on broadly informing Canadians across the country about the fire. She noted there are parts of the country where, when it comes to media presence, the CBC "is kind of the only game in town or in the nearest town." Johnson said one option is for the CBC to partner with local independent journalists, a model which has been implemented in Britain and "could be a great model for Canada." Changing technology also means there are technical issues to consider — internet and cellphone networks can go down, and many people don't have traditional TV or radios anymore. "I think it's a government responsibility to do that work, whether it involves research, and say, are we actually prepared, and who needs to be involved in a conversation about making sure that we're prepared?" The CRTC, Canada's broadcast and telecom regulator, announced Tuesday that it's launching a consultation on how to improve Canada's public alert system. It requires cellphone, cable and satellite providers, and TV and radio broadcasters to distribute emergency alerts. Johnson's report concludes that Canada's emergency preparedness needs are changing, and that means "CBC/Radio Canada may need to be structured to serve the country in ways it hasn't had to in the past."
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Poetry with purpose: Laurie Fischer's story
Winnipeg Watch Poet Laurie Fischer shares how his cancer journey inspired his writing—and how his latest book supports cancer care.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Hundreds of trees to be planted in Assiniboine Park with new funding
The Assiniboine Park Conservancy is getting a boost from the federal government to plant more trees in the park. The Assiniboine Park Conservancy is getting a boost from the federal government to plant more trees in the park. Hundreds of trees are coming to Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park with the help of some new money. On Tuesday, the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities announced joint funding of nearly $17 million to plant over 77,000 new trees around the country. The money will go towards 27 projects, including $150,000 to Assiniboine Park Conservancy, which will use the funds to plant 600 trees in Assiniboine Park. According to the government, the new trees will improve Assiniboine Park's biodiversity and forest health, while addressing the loss of trees from Dutch elm disease. It will also help the city achieve its target for tree canopy coverage. Gerald Dieleman, senior director of horticulture, said the news is exciting for the team at Assiniboine Park Conservancy. 'It's a goal here to increase our tree coverage across the park, and this funding helps support that,' he said. Dieleman said the conservancy plans to plant tree species that will thrive over the next 25 years, including mountain ash, Manitoba maples, lindens, and hackberries. He added the planting will take place over the next three years. 'Losing trees to Dutch elm disease, elm trees in particular, is a large concern because elms are the dominant species across the city and in the park too,' he said. 'These replacement trees are different species, and that's one of the goals of this program—to diversify the plantings across the park and the zoo, which is what we are doing here.' The government money will also be used to plant more than 19,000 trees in Kitchener, Ont.; 1,200 trees in Charlottetown, PEI; and 3,750 in Ottawa.
