Resolute, Nunavut

Resolute (Inuktitut: Qausuittuq (place with no dawn), sometimes Resolute Bay) is a small Inuit hamlet on Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, Canada. It is situated at the northern end of Resolute Bay and the Northwest Passage and is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region. The 2008 Rand McNally Road Atlas shows the Inuit name of Qausuittuq, but the official name remains Resolute.

Resolute is one of Canada's northernmost communities and is second only to Grise Fiord on Ellesmere Island (Alert and Eureka are more northerly but are not considered towns—just military outposts and weather stations). It is also one of the coldest inhabited places in the world, with an average yearly temperature of . As of the 2006 census the population was 229, an increase of 6.5% from the 2001 census. Like most northern communities the roads and most of the terrain are all gravel.

Settlement

Founded in 1947 as the site of an airfield and weather station, it was named after .

Efforts to assert sovereignty in the High Arctic during the Cold War, i.e. the area's strategic geopolitical position, led the federal government to forcibly relocate Inuit from northern Quebec to Resolute (and to Grise Fiord). The first group of people were relocated in 1953 from Inukjuak, Quebec (then known as Port Harrison ) and from Pond Inlet, Nunavut. They were promised homes and game to hunt, but the relocated people discovered no buildings and very little familiar wildlife. They also had to endure weeks of 24 hour darkness during the winter, and 24 hour sunlight during the summer, something that does not occur in northern Quebec. They were told that they would be returned home after a year if they wished, but this offer was later withdrawn as it would damage Canada's claims to sovereignty in the area and the Inuit were forced to stay. Eventually, the Inuit learned the local beluga whale migration routes and were able to survive in the area, hunting over a range of 18,000 km² (6,950 mi²) each year..

In 1993, the Canadian government held hearings to investigate the relocation program. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples called the relocation "one of the worst human rights violations in the history of Canada". The government paid $10 million CAD to the survivors and their families, but as of 2007 has yet to apologize.

Having lost most traditional skills and purpose, its Inuit residents are now to a large degree dependent on government support. The whole story is told in Melanie McGrath's The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic.

Future

On August 8, 2007, CBC News reported that Canadian Forces documents showed plans to build an army training centre in the community along with a $60 million deepwater port at Nanisivik.

On August 10, 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the construction of a pair of multimillion-dollar military facilities within the contested waters of Canada's Arctic territory. The facilities consist of a new army training centre at Resolute, Nunavut and a deep-sea port at Nanisivik. A statement issued by the Prime Minister says, "The Training Centre will be a year-round multi-purpose facility supporting Arctic training and operations, accommodating up to 100 personnel. Training equipment and vehicles stationed at the site will also provide an increased capability and faster response time in support of regional military or civilian emergency operations."

Early Day Photos of the Canadian United States Joint Arctic Weather Stations can be found at.

Facilities

Although not as busy as it once was, Resolute Bay Airport is still the core of the town, serving as an aviation hub for exploration in the region and connected by direct service to Iqaluit and Cambridge Bay. The Tadjaat Co-op runs a grocery and retail store, a hotel, a restaurant, cable TV service, Internet, snowmobile rental, and an airport gift shop.

The town has three hotels - Narwhal Inn, Qausuittuq Inns North and South Camp Inn - which have fewer than 100 rooms each, and several lodges. Other facilities include a Royal Canadian Mounted Police station, a school (which provides education from kindergarten to Grade 12) and a gym.

Climate

Resolute has a polar climate with long cold winters and short cool summers. Resolute's average high for the year is while the average low for the year is . Resolute has a very dry climate with an average precipitation of a year, most of it falling as rain in the summer months of July and August. The record high for Resolute is on July 18, 1962. The record low for Resolute is on January 7, 1966.

Trivia

Resolute is the starting point for both the Polar Race and the Polar Challenge, in which teams race the to the North Magnetic Pole.

In 2007, the British television team Top Gear embarked from Resolute and became the first team to reach the magnetic north pole on automobiles, with Jeremy Clarkson and James May reaching the Pole in a UK plated 2007 Toyota Hilux 3.0 litre Diesel heavily modified by an Icelandic team on a mixture of diesel and avgas, against Richard Hammond who was being pulled by a team of sled dogs.