The Aglukkaqs are busy melting ice to make water for tea, two days after their pipes burst from the prolonged power outage in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut.

It’s a traditional practice for Inuit, and Miriam Aglukkaq prefers to drink it, but she says that ice her family has gathered is not really enough for other uses, like cleaning.

She was one of the lucky ones to have her power restored early after the outage began on April 8, triggering a state of emergency the following day.

But that meant taking in other family members who didn’t have heat. 

“We had 10 people that night,” she said in Inuktitut.

On Thursday, the hamlet declared the state of emergency over because “conditions have improved”.

Aglukkaq is relieved, but she wishes the hamlet had an emergency response plan when the outage first hit, especially given how many residents live in old and frail buildings.  

She’s not the only one disappointed. Gjoa Haven MLA David Porter took to Facebook on Monday, blasting the hamlet’s response to the outage. Porter’s post has since been deleted, and he has not responded to CBC News’ requests for comment.

Once upon a time, an emergency response plan did exist, but Mayor Raymond Quqshuun Sr. believes something happened when the hamlet building went through renovations.

“I think that’s where they lost some of the documents,” he said.

Quqshuun wasn’t able to fly back into Gjoa Haven when the sustained blizzards and outage first hit. But now that he’s back, he says a new emergency response plan is being drafted and should be ready by the end of the month. 

It will include protocols on a range of emergencies, from power outages to search and rescue.

Taking others in is the Inuit way

During the emergency period, the hamlet opened a warming centre at the high school, but it was only open during the day. 

Quqshuun says he was told there was a risk of flu and other illnesses spreading.

“The Department of Health’s advice is that it’s better not to keep them together too long,” he said.

The department told CBC News it issued no such advice. 

In the absence of a warming centre overnight, the hamlet paid households with power $50 to take in people for the night.

“I know we’re short of houses and everybody’s crowded, but there’s no other way to do it,” he said. “That’s the way Inuit always lived and survived in the past. And I think that technique in Inuit traditional values should be stronger in our emergency response plan.”

The Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) says 51 public housing units were damaged following the outage, and roughly six families were displaced, though they’ve since returned to their homes.

NHC says the local housing organization went to those units as quickly as possible, and additional tradespeople are being brought in for repairs.

The power plant in Gjoa Haven was built in 1977 and has exceeded its design life according to a submission to the Nunavut Impact Review Board. In a written response to CBC News, Qulliq Energy Corporation says it is building a new power plant, with construction set to resume later this month. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2027.

Still no timeline for water line leak

Residents are already fatigued by slow water and sewage services that started after a leak was detected in a water line connecting the treatment plant and the pumping station in January. 

Since then, residents have been posting their frustrations on social media and have written to CBC News, with some questioning why there’s no emergency declaration over the water situation.

Quqshuun maintains an emergency declaration isn’t necessary because there is still water delivery.

“Right now we’re able to deliver water. It may take a little bit longer, but we asked the people to be patient and work with us,” he said. “I think I was one of the last ones to get water in the community [when the leak was detected], but I didn’t suffer.”

In written responses to CBC News, Nunavut Emergency Management (NEM) agrees, saying residents still have safe drinking water — it just has to be boiled first.

It also says an emergency declaration wouldn’t automatically trigger additional resources or change the way technical issues are handled.

“Addressing the intake line issue required technical assessment, contracting, and repair planning, which follow established processes and timelines regardless of whether a state of local emergency is in place,” NEM wrote in an email. 

Quqshuun says there are more contractors coming next week to determine how to proceed with repairs, but still, there’s no timeline for when there will be a fix.

CBC News has reached out to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Nunavut, but did not hear back before the deadline. 

As the wait continues, Quqshuun urges people to be patient, and not believe everything you read on Facebook, as it doesn’t show “the other side of the story.”

“We have to learn how to be patient and work together to resolve the problem,” he said. “And with everybody’s help, I know this is gonna be resolved someday.”