On Thin Ice: Iqaluit’s Water Crisis
Oct 27, 2021
In this episode, we visit the city of Iqaluit in Canada’s northern territory of Nunavut, which is battling a water crisis on multiple fronts.
This month, residents were alerted not to drink or cook with water due to contamination. But for years, the city’s main water supply - Lake Geraldine - has experienced dropping levels. And overall, climate change is impacting everything from the city’s water supply, to thawing permafrost.
Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster served as Deputy Mayor of Iqaluit, and was recently elected to her territory's legislature.
In this episode, recorded shortly after that alert was issued, she shares how the people of Iqaluit are coping with these water challenges and what they mean for the Inuit and their traditional way of life.