FUTURE LOGISTICS: CLIMATE CHANGE, DEVELOPMENT, AND TRANSPORTATION

The logistical situation in the North is also changing rapidly. Climate change has been identified as a main driver of increased industrial development in the Canadian North (AMAP, 2007; ICC, 2011; NSIDC, 2012), and mining, oil and gas, shipping, and tourism are all predicted to increase in the coming decades.

These activities have implications for the ecological health of the region. The Arctic Council has addressed some of these matters, in particular, a number of issues related to oil spill response guidelines and shipping. The 2013–2015 Canadian Chairmanship has prioritized “responsible resource development, safe Arctic shipping, and sustainable circumpolar communities” (Government of Canada, 2013).

Increased economic activity and significant changes due to climatic processes are resulting in increased use, opportunities, and threats to the Arctic marine and coastal environments. Land activities affecting the Arctic marine area include oil and gas activities, mines, industrial complexes, harbours, and human settlements. The marine pollution effects are, with few exceptions, mostly local (Arctic Council, 2013). According to the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), oil and gas activities in the marine portion of the Arctic are more restricted than activities on land (AMAP, 2007). Industrial development can introduce local economic benefits for northern Aboriginal peoples but also negatively impact land, wildlife, water, and community health (AMAP, 2009b; GRID-Arendal, 2009). Increased ship traffic serving resource facilities, however, may be an avenue for less expensive shipping of market food (AMAP, 2009a). New runways and roads may also increase the availability of market food. The Panel concluded that more research is required on the effects of natural resource and other development on food security and the health of northern Aboriginal peoples.

Changes in existing critical transportation infrastructure throughout northern Canada may influence the transportation of market food and thus affect its access and affordability in small, remote communities where many items are already prohibitively expensive (GRID-Arendal, 2009). More research is also required on how climate change may affect existing infrastructure such as roads and runways. Some authors, such as Butler Walker et al. (2009), identify several factors likely to affect communities and food security in northern Canada in the near future, many of which pertain to the logistics of market food. These include increasing costs for imported food and transportation, increasing uncertainty of transportation, effects of climate change on weather conditions and transportation infrastructure, and food storage challenges.

Regional representatives at a Transport Canada workshop on climate change and transportation reported that some significant impacts to transportation infrastructure were already present in 2003 (Transport Canada, 2003).

The impact of climate change on transportation varies by latitude and geography.

Areas served by marine transport are generally benefitting from a longer shipping season (e.g., Churchill, MB); new harbours (e.g., Nanisivik, Pangnirtung); and possible route changes. However, industry experts report that heavy equipment used to off-load barges is having trouble on the softer ground due to melting permafrost at the shoreline (Gaudreau, 2013). A longer open-water season with decreasing sea-ice coverage and extent is expected to provide greater boat

113 Chapter 6 The Market Food System

access to coastal communities throughout the year and make ship and barge transportation more viable. Airlines report that gravel runways are becoming too wet during certain times in the spring and fall (Vodden, 2013). Work by Allard & Lemay (2012) in Nunavik, which has no road network, reports the instability of airstrips as a result of current permafrost warming. These new conditions were not previously anticipated.

Where all-weather roads exist in permafrost areas, dangerous sink holes are developing, while communities dependent on ice roads are experiencing greater risk concerning annual resupply of goods. For example, the 2,200-kilometre winter road system connecting remote and northern communities in Manitoba to the south of the province is usually open for about eight weeks per year. In 2010, however, the roads were open for less than a month (CBC News , 2010). The new East Side Transportation Initiative (see Box 6.1), in addition to mitigating road safety concerns and providing year-round road access to 13 communities, is expected to lower the freight costs of goods and essential services by 50% and the cost of medical transport by 40%, if it is actually constructed (ESRA, 2011).

Box 6.1

East Side Transportation Initiative, Manitoba

This recently commenced road-construction initiative to create year-round access to 13 isolated communities on the east side of Lake Manitoba is projected to:

• lower freight costs of essential supplies by 50% and medical cost transport by 40%;

• reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30%, or an estimated 16,700 tonnes per year;

• save 6.1 million litres of fuel per year as a result of shifting travel from air and winter roads to an all-season road system;

• create 22,000 person-years of direct employment and approximately 15,000 person-years of indirect employment; and

• reach 872 kilometres in length and cost approximately $2.7 billion.

The East Side Road Authority’s business plan has called for an investment of approximately $1.125 billion over the next 15 years. No funding has been announced for the balance of the road network at the time of writing.

(ESRA, 2011)

6.5 CONCLUSIONS

In addition to traditional/country food, market food represents the other main food source in northern Canada. Due to the high costs of transportation, warehousing, and distribution, market food is significantly more expensive in northern communities than in southern ones. The implications of these prices are particularly serious considering the prevalence of low-income households across the Canadian North, as well as the rising costs of traditional/country food. In addition, the most frequently consumed market food products are of relatively low nutritional value when compared with nutrient-dense traditional/

country food. Increased economic activity and significant changes as a result of climatic processes are resulting in increased use, opportunities, and threats to Arctic marine and coastal environments. These developments bring both challenges and opportunities for the achievement of food sovereignty and food and nutrition security.

115 Chapter 7 The Nutrition Transition in a Mixed Economic System

• Mixed Economies in the North

• Poverty, Food Costs, and Food Insecurity

• Declining Consumption of Traditional/

Country Food

• Conclusions

7

The Nutrition Transition in a Mixed Economic System

7 The Nutrition Transition in a Mixed

Northern Canada has a mixed economy, where subsistence and wage economies exist along a continuum. Food sharing networks remain an important activity of northern cultures and economies. As a process, these networks help integrate subsistence and wage-earning activities in a social network.

A combination of market food and subsistence food systems is generally the practice in northern Aboriginal communities today. The shift to purchased food is particularly evident among younger generations, women, and communities with more access to market food.

Social, economic, cultural, technological, political, and environmental changes have ushered in the nutrition transition. This transition refers to the shift from nutrient-dense, traditional/

country food to market (store-bought) food and the resulting increases in chronic disease.

The high cost and level of knowledge needed to select and prepare relatively newly introduced market food are barriers to accessing healthy market food in northern Aboriginal communities.

Poverty is a significant compounding factor in obtaining adequate nutrition from either traditional/country food or market food.

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