Working in Iqaluit: Final Thoughts

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Entering my last few days of my working adventure, I thought I’d reflect on the past couple of weeks in Iqaluit. My last update included some interesting festivities and I’ve been more or less doing much of the same. On my days off, I have devoted most of my time to exploring the surrounding landscape. The weekend after my last post, I decided to take off on a hike that has been done by many of the local people who have settled in this area for thousands of years, the hike along the coast to the nearby “suburb “of Iqaluit, Apex. Luckily, the weather had gotten quite nice, which unfortunately brought on the one problem I’ve found with this city, but is definitely a familiar one with the north... the mosquitoes. Usually, when there is a decent breeze, they are less of a problem, so on this day, I was lucky. As I began along the coast of Koojessie Inlet, I admired the landscape. It was very impressive. Being amongst the tundra really gives you a feeling of isolation. Climbing up some of the rolling hills and having a view of the surrounding land is impressive. You can see so far into the distance that I was often asking myself what else is out there? It really implants a curious feeling of wanting to go further and further and find out what’s beyond the next rolling hill.

But, today my destination was set and exploring further would have to wait for another day. As I got close, I was able to see the buildings with the red roofs that Apex is known for, some of the original Hudson’s Bay buildings in the area. I’ve always been a pretty big fan of history, and seeing that The Bay was such an integral part of our early days of exploring this country, it was nice to see a historical part of it in tangible form.

However, after spending a little while admiring the buildings, the mosquitoes began harassing me again, so I figured it was a good time to leave.

That evening I was invited out to a party by one of the nurses that worked at the hospital. I was looking forward to it as I hadn’t really gone out a whole lot to this point. After having a few drinks at the party, we went out to the main destination for a night out in Iqaluit.... The Royal Canadian Legion. Despite the expensive prices, especially for a Legion, it was nice to get out and socialize. It was also a strange feeling leaving near closing time and it still being light out.

Since I kind of ran out of dedicated hikes to do, the remainder of my weekends were devoted to satisfying my desire to see how far I could explore and how far I could see into the distance. I managed to hike fairly far into the tundra, and I’ll always remember the stark feeling of isolation. It was quite amazing being able to hike only an hour of town and feel really alone and having nearly a 360 degree view of absolutely nothing. No trees, no animals, no water, just rocks and tundra. It was a very desolate feeling, but an interesting one at that. It had me reminiscing of what people in this area might have experienced when they were living and exploring in the region or the movies where you see people walking over vast landscapes for days, weeks or months. It was definitely something that was excellent to feel.

With my weekends being filled with exploration, my weekdays have primarily been taken up by my work at Mental Health Services. It has been a great experience being able to practice in a very different community. However, it has given me a glimpse into a bit of the darker side of the North. From my previous travels, I’m used to facing poverty to a certain extent; however, being able to work in it, especially in my field has given me an up close and personal view of the issues this community faces. I suppose the struggles are not unlike many of the issues in a large cosmopolitan area. Homelessness, drug use, mental health problems are all things I work with everyday at home. However, what’s different here is the concentration of problems compared with the population. For a community of only around 7,000 people, the work here has compared to communities that I’ve worked in with nearly 10x the number of people. It’s worrisome to realize that there are communities in Nunavut that are even worse off and the fact that this is a Canadian territory and compares to other 3^rd world experiences I’ve had in other countries. It’s difficult to think about, but something that we have to look at changing.

Despite the social difficulties the community faces, I’ve been able to notice resiliency in many areas and the people here are very unique. Everyone still has a smile for you, and amazing talents to offer in fabulous traditional Inuit carvings, and a culture that is still very strong. As with every trip, this one to the Canadian North has been a unique one. Working in a community and not having to leave to another destination after a couple of days has given me a chance to really experience it. The landscape has been impressive and the desolate nature of this place was imposing. Despite the social problems, it is still a very endearing place and I hope to return one day.

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