Inuit organization calls for better Arctic search and rescue
ITK says better training for local people is needed
CBC News
Posted: Feb 16, 2012 6:34 AM CST
Last Updated: Feb 16, 2012 7:38 AM CST
Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said there needs to be better training for local search and rescue organizations in the Arctic. (The Canadian Press)
A national Inuit organization is calling for improvements to Arctic search and rescue.
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) has waded into the debate sparked by the death this month of Labrador teenager Burton Winters.
ITK is urging Ottawa to make a plan for rescue and disaster response in Canada's remote northern communities.
"I think the government felt that they could not put search and rescue in every community. But that is not what we are asking for – we are asking for a better system that will allow our people to be trained better to do search and rescue and to have the equipment that they need to do search and rescue. So there are different ways of improving it," said Mary Simon, ITK’s president.
This week, Federal Defence Minister Peter McKay called for a review of search and rescue protocols, which determine when and how the military joins local searches. One of the main criticisms in the Winters case was how long the military waited to join the search.
Mary Simon says she welcomes the review and she urged McKay to consult Inuit as part of the investigation.
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