By: Kira Wronska Dorward, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

BREVOORT ISLAND (LJI) – A worker for Nassituq Corporation was killed on Aug. 9 after an attack by two polar bears on Brevoort Island, southeast of Baffin Island.

“An attack by two polar bears has resulted in the loss of one of our valued employees,” stated a news release issued the same day. One of the animals was subsequently killed but those details have not yet been made clear.

“We have been made aware of an attack at a North Warning Site operated by Nassituq Corp. on Brevoort Island,” said Jaleen Tagoona, the manager of communications and outreach for Nunavut’s environment department. “It is about 200 kilometres (east-southeast) of Iqaluit.”

Maja Stefanaovska, of the media relations office for Employment and Social Development Canada, released this statement to Nunavut News on behalf of the federal government regarding the incident, which falls under its purview: “The Government of Canada extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of the victim of the fatal incident in Cape Perry, Nunavut.

“The Labour Program at Employment and Social Development Canada has launched an investigation into this incident that involved an employee working for Nasittuq Corporation, a federally regulated employer.

“The Canada Labour Code limits the sharing of any information gathered during an investigation to the workplace parties. Other interested parties may submit an Access to Information request.”

Nasittuq, which specializes in technical, logistics, and operations and maintenance services in the Arctic, has not yet released the name of the deceased employee. Chris Webb, president of Nasittuq Corporation, did not respond to requests for comment from Nunavut News.

When contacted, Michael Foote, chief coroner for the Department of Justice commented, “The Coroners office cannot share details about any ongoing investigation. Once investigations are complete, coroners’ final reports are publicly available through The Government of Nunavut’s Access and Privacy Office.”

Growing number of interactions

The bear attack is part of an increasing trend since the 1950s for large carnivores to have fatal interactions with humans. According to studies conducted by the University of Calgary with input from professor Stephen Herrero, a leading bear authority, levels of interaction between humans and large carnivores is on the rise, resulting in more than 700 recorded deaths from large wildlife in developed countries as of 2016. 

Those involved in outdoor activities where they have encountered bears “may lack knowledge about how to avoid aggressive encounters with large carnivores and what to do when such encounters occur,” a study determined.

“From an early age, most of us learn social norms, rules and how to decrease risks in urban environmental settings, but much less effort is expended to teach us how to behave appropriately in areas inhabited by large carnivores,” Herrero stated.

When asked directly about what training is provided by the federal government in terms of dealing with bears in remote work locations, the media relations office for Employment and Social Development Canada said in a statement:

“Under the Canada Labour Code, federally-regulated employers must protect the health and safety of every employee while at work, and ensure they have the necessary information, training and supervision to perform their jobs safely. For example, employers must put in place a workplace-specific hazard prevention program (HPP) to identify and assess the potential risk of any workplace hazards and determine what preventive measures would be the most effective, and provide employees with specific safety training on identified hazards in remote work locations. If a situation could pose an immediate danger to the health and safety of an employee, employers must have readily available emergency procedures in place.

“Employers are encouraged to consult various guidance material and resources to help them protect their employees from hazards, and develop and maintain their HPP. For example, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety provides many online resources, such as guidance related to working alone — off-site.”