Inuit Nunangat needs a community public safety officer program – Policy Options

Increased funding for emergency management, and search and rescue is vital in a time of climate change.

June 27, 2022

This spring, the pan-northern leaders’ statement on climate change highlighted that increased funding for emergency management must be a key part of climate change response in the North. We couldn’t agree more.

Over the last few years, we’ve been working with community first responders on the Kitikmeot Search and Rescue (SAR) project. While focused on improving SAR operations in the region, we also heard a great deal about broader emergency-management and community-safety concerns, including the risks posed by building fires, prolonged power outages and other critical infrastructure failures. In particular, first responders flagged the broad spectrum of natural and human-made hazards created or exacerbated by climate change: tundra fires; unpredictable ice conditions; severe weather events; flooding; and issues raised by increased outside human activity, including environmental pollution and the prospect of a major marine disaster.

Read More: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/june-2022/inuit-nunangat-needs-a-community-public-safety-officer-program/