The Nunavut SAR Roundtable was created in response to repeated calls from Nunavummiut for review and discussion of the territory’s SAR system. In January 2020, Nunavut Emergency Management and its academic partners held the first roundtable in Cambridge Bay. It was never envisioned as a one-and-done event, however. The roundtable is an ongoing initiative that provides the time and space to discuss and improve the search and rescue system, offers training opportunities, helps to organize other SAR activities, and strengthens the relationships required for effective SAR operations.

The roundtable is rooted in and guided by Inuit Societal Values and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, as set out by the Government of Nunavut:

• Piliriqatigiinniq/Ikajuqtigiinniq – Working together for a common cause.
• Qanuqtuurniq – Being innovative and resourceful.
• Inuuqatigiitsiarniq – Respecting others, relationships and caring for people.
• Pijitsirniq – Serving and providing for family and community.
• Pilimmaksarniq/Pijariuqsarniq – Developing skills through observation, mentoring, practice, and effort.
• Aajiiqatigiinniq – Decision making through discussion and consensus.
• Tunnganarniq – Fostering good spirits by being open, welcoming and inclusive.
• Avatittinnik Kamatsiarniq – Respect and care for the land, animals and the environment

The roundtable is dedicated to fully integrating traditional Inuit Knowledge into the territorial and national SAR systems.

ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ ᕿᓂᖅᑏᑦ ᑲᑎᒪᓂᖓᑦ ᑲᑐᔾᔨᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᐅᕗᖅ ᓄᓇᓕᓐᓂ ᐊᐅᓚᔾᔭᒋᐊᖅᑎᓄᑦ, ᒐᕙᒪᒃᑯᓐᓂ ᑲᒪᔨᓄᑦ, ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑎᓄᓪᓗ. ᑲᑎᒪᔪᑦ ᐱᕕᖃᓲᖑᕗᑦ ᐃᓂᖃᖅᓱᑎᓪᓗ ᐅᖃᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐱᕚᓪᓕᑎᑦᓯᓂᕐᒧᓗ ᕿᓂᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᐅᐃᓚᓂᐅᔪᓂᒃ, ᒪᓂᒪᑎᑦᓯᑦᓱᑎᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕋᑦᓴᓂᒃ, ᐃᑲᔪᖅᓱᑎᒃ ᐸᕐᓇᐃᔭᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐊᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᕿᓂᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᓂᐅᔪᓂᒃ, ᓴᙱᓕᖅᐹᓪᓕᑎᑦᓯᓂᐅᑦᓱᓂᓗ ᑲᓲᒪᓂᐅᒋᐊᓕᓐᓂᒃ ᑲᔪᓯᑦᓯᐊᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᕿᓂᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᓂᐅᔪᑦ.

ᑲᑎᒪᓂᖅ ᒪᙳᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓕᑕᖃᖅᓱᓂᓗ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓅᓯᕐᒨᖓᔪᓂᒃ ᐊᑐᖅᑐᖁᑎᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔭᑐᖃᖏᓐᓂᒃ, ᑕᐃᒫᒃ ᐋᖅᑭᑦᑕᐅᓯᒪᒻᒪᑕ ᒐᕙᒪᒃᑯᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᓄᓇᕗᑦ:

• ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᖅ/ᐃᑲᔪᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᖅ − ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᖅ ᐱᔾᔪᑕᐅᔪᒧᑦ.
• ᖃᓄᖅᑑᕐᓂᖅ − ᓴᓇᑐᓂᖃᕐᓂᖅ ᐃᑲᔫᑎᑦᓴᖃᕐᓂᕐᓗ.
• ᐃᓅᖃᑎᒌᑦᓯᐊᕐᓂᖅ − ᐱᒃᑯᒋᔭᖃᕐᓂᖅ ᐃᓅᖃᑎᒥᓂᒃ, ᑲᓲᒪᓂᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐃᑉᐱᒍᓱᑦᓯᐊᕐᓂᕐᓗ ᐃᓄᓐᓂᒃ
• ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕐᓂᖅ − ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕐᓂᖅ ᐊᑐᐃᓐᓇᐅᑎᑦᓯᓂᕐᓗ ᓇᒻᒥᓂᕆᔭᕐᓄᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᓐᓄᓪᓗ.
• ᐱᓕᒻᒪᒃᓴᕐᓂᖅ/ᐱᔭᕆᐅᖅᓴᕐᓂᖅ − ᐱᔭᕆᐅᖅᐸᓪᓕᐊᕐᓂᖅ ᑕᑯᓐᓈᕐᓂᒃᑯᑦ, ᐅᖃᐅᔾᔪᐃᓂᒃᑯᑦ, ᐱᔭᕆᐊᖅᓴᓂᒃᑯᑦ, ᐱᓇᓱᐊᕐᓂᒃᑯᓪᓗ.
• ᐋᔩᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᖅ − ᖃᓄᖅᑑᕈᑎᖃᕐᓂᖅ ᐅᖃᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᖏᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᒃᑯᓪᓗ.
• ᑐᙵᓇᕐᓂᖅ − ᑲᔪᓯᑎᑦᓯᓂᖅ ᐃᓅᓯᑦᓯᐊᕙᒻᒥᒃ ᒪᑐᐃᖔᕐᓂᒃᑯᑦ, ᑐᙵᓇᕐᓂᓕᒃᑯᑦ ᐃᓚᐅᑎᑦᓯᓂᑯᓪᓗ.
• ᐊᕙᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᑲᒪᑦᓯᐊᕐᓂᖅ − ᐱᒃᑯᒋᔭᖃᕐᓂᖅ ᐃᑉᐱᒍᓱᑦᓯᐊᕐᓂᕐᓗ ᓄᓇᒥᒃ, ᐆᒪᔪᕐᓂᒃ, ᐊᕙᑎᒥᓪᓗ.

ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ ᕿᓂᖅᑎᓄᑦ ᑲᑎᒪᓂᐅᔪᖅ ᑐᓂᒪᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᑕᖏᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐃᓚᒍᑦᓯᐅᔾᔨᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓂᖓᓐᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ ᑲᓇᑕᒥᓗ ᕿᓂᕐᓂᒧᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᓂᐅᔪᓄᑦ.

On this page:

• Regional Roundtables, 2020 and 2022
• Trenton Arctic SAR Exchange 2023: Working Better Together
• Territorial Roundtable 2024: SAR Coordination
• Arctic SAR Exchange 2025: Operating at the Speed of Trust
• Roundtable Funding and Support

Regional Roundtables, 2020 and 2022

Four regional search and rescue roundtables – the Kitikmeot (held in January 2020 and November 2022), the Qikiqtani (November 2022), and the Kivalliq (November 2022) – brought together almost 100 Inuit responders and over 60 representatives from territorial, federal, non-profit, and Inuit agencies and organizations to discuss the territory’s SAR system. Together, participants:

• Evaluated current SAR policies and plans
• Examined the SAR risks facing communities
• Assessed current SAR capabilities
• Identified strengths, challenges, and areas for improvement
• Documented best practices and lessons
• Discussed solutions and new approaches

The roundtables also provided an opportunity for community responders to learn from one another and develop a community of practice, while asking their government partners for clarity on policy, procedural, and operational issues. Most importantly, the roundtables offered an opportunity to strengthen the collaborative relationships required for SAR operations in the region. Given that relationship building was a primary objective, the roundtables prioritized the personal conversations shared over coffee and meals as much as the broader discussions involving the entire group.

Perhaps most importantly, the roundtables strengthened the relationships that make effective  SAR operations possible. SAR in Nunavut often requires close collaboration, communication, and joint coordination between local, territorial, and federal responders. Opportunities to meet face-to-face are rare and the roundtables allowed SAR partners to get to know one another through discussions and personal conversations over coffee and meals.

Using information collected at the roundtable and follow-up interviews with key participants, a report was produced on the State of Search and Rescue in Nunavut.

Agenda and Participant List – Kitikmeot 2020 and 2022 / Kivalliq 2022 / Qikiqtani 2022

Kitikmeot Roundtable on SAR 2020 Final Report

Regional Roundtables 2022 Final Report

Trenton Arctic SAR Exchange 2023: Working Better Together

Trenton, Ontario, 3-5 November 2023

Community representatives on the Nunavut SAR Roundtable suggested an exchange between the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres (JRCC) and Nunavummiut responders could strengthen relationships and improve SAR operations in the region. They also wanted an opportunity to discuss SAR best practices with responders from other parts of the Arctic.

Working with Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Trenton, the roundtable’s academic partners arranged Arctic SAR Exchange 2023, which brought Northern responders from Nunavik, Nunavut, and the NWT to Canadian Armed Forces Base Trenton to learn how the JRCC functions, discuss operational level challenges, and strengthen collaboration. The exchange led to:

• better knowledge about different roles and responsibilities within the SAR system
• greater understanding of how local/traditional knowledge can enhance the support provided by the JRCCs,
• concrete steps to improve how JRCCs, RCAF personnel, Northern governments, and community responders work together during SAR operations
• the sharing of lessons and best practices between community responders from across the North

Responders also had the opportunity to learn about SmartICE – a social enterprise that provides communities with the situational awareness required to plan for safe on-ice travel and boating routes – and its use in SAR prevention and response.

Participants from the Nunavut SAR Roundtable included community responders Angulalik Pedersen, Savanna Moore, Bobby Klengenberg, Daniel Kablutisiak, Kaviq Kaluraq, Valerie Qaunaq, and Andrew Arreak, as well as Nunavut Emergency Management personnel Blaine Heffernan and Tony Comella.

Agenda and Participant List / Final Report

Territorial Roundtable 2024: SAR Coordination

Iqaluit, 15-17 November 2024

Nunavut SAR Roundtable 2024 focused on strengthening SAR management and coordination in the territory. To achieve this goal, we brought together the SAR coordinators from twenty-one communities and their core territorial, federal, and non-profit partners (other coordinators were unable to attend due to travel issues and operational requirements). As at previous roundtables, participants had the opportunity to discuss policies and procedures, share challenges and concerns, suggest improvements, learn from one another, and ask questions. In addition, this roundtable provided participants with guidance and training on search and rescue management, planning, and documentation, including best practices employed by experienced coordinators across the territory. Coordinators discussed their approaches to SAR operations and identified key areas for improvement. Finally, roundtable participants received direction on how to integrate SmartICE into SAR operations to improve search effectiveness and responder safety.

Agenda and Participant List / Roundtable Report

Arctic SAR Exchange 2025: Operating at the Speed of Trust

Halifax and Greenwood, Nova Scotia, 1-4 March 2025

The Arctic Search and Rescue Exchange is built on one core idea: that relationships and collaboration constitute the foundation of an effective search and rescue system. Relationships rooted in trust and respect allow SAR team members and partners to work together during operations, to understand each other’s resources, capabilities, and limitations, and to overcome challenges.

A lot of progress has been made since Arctic SAR Exchange 2023 and the first Nunavik and Nunavut SAR Roundtables. Arctic SAR Exchange 2025 focused on how do we build on these positive developments to strengthen and sustain the relationships, frameworks, and procedures that foster collaboration in Arctic SAR. How can we work better together? How can we operate at the speed of trust?

At the same time, while we have this group of experienced SAR responders and researchers together, we also took time to work through areas for improvement, share best practices and lessons learned, and co-develop tools that can help make SAR operations more effective. In particular, we explored best practices and critical requirements for SAR training, planning, and management.

Agenda and participant list

Roundtable Funding and Support

The majority of funding and logistical support for the roundtable’s activities has come from the Nunavut-Nunavik SAR Project – a team of Canadian and UK academics and Inuit research partners focused on strengthening Nunavut and Nunavik’s whole-of-society SAR systems. The project involves academics from St. Francis Xavier University, the University of Strathclyde, Dalhousie University, Trent University, and the Marine Institute at Memorial University, and Inuit investigators Calvin Pedersen, Angulalik Pedersen, Jack Himiak, Daniel Kablutsiak, and Baba Pedersen. The project is funded by the National Research Council of Canada and the United Kingdom Research and Innovation through the Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Research Program.

Additional funding for roundtable activities has been provided by:

• Public Safety Canada Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund
• Nunavut Emergency Management
• Canadian Coast Guard
• Department of National Defence
• Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network
• SARNIF project # EM-9101-22008 “Maximum Time to be Rescued in Canadian Arctic Waters” (principal investigator: Dr. Ron Pelot)
• North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (network lead: Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer)
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
• Irving Shipbuilding Chair funds of Peter Kikkert
• Canadian North