NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, North Slave Region, South Slave Region

Tags: social sciences

Objective(s): To assess the current state of thinking in northern and Indigenous communities about the possible future use of small nuclear power to serve the needs of northern and remote people.

Project Description: The goal of this research project is to conduct an assessment of the current state of thinking in northern and Indigenous communities about the possible future use of small nuclear power to serve the needs of northern and remote people. The research team will conduct Semi-structured and confidential interviews with Indigenous and community leaders. The interview subjects will be identified in a manner that preserves their anonymity. Interviews will be approximately 30 minutes in length, they will be with primarily community leaders and head administrators. The research team will collect this list through the communities’ public directories. The interviews will be conducted in person and notes will be taken by hand by two researchers. Interviews will not be recorded. An initial letter of invitation to participate will be sent out. The community element of the project will include, where possible, a visit to local power generation and power delivery systems and interview questions directed toward leaders about the challenges, costs and benefits of current power systems. Interviews will be approximately 30 minutes in length, they will be with organizations. The research team will collect this list through the organization's public directories. The interviews will be conducted in person and notes will be taken by hand by two researchers. Interviews will not be recorded. An initial letter of invitation to participate will be sent out. Northern and remote Indigenous communities face formidable infrastructure challenges, ranging from problems with water quality and housing to the high costs of energy. In the latter instance, the difficulties involved with delivering fuel are further complicated by the need to maintain and operate the electrical systems under often-difficult conditions. Families devote a much higher than average percentage of their total income to domestic energy use. Furthermore, the prohibitive cost, uncertain supply and often unreliable delivery systems make it difficult to capitalize on emerging technologies that could make substantial contributions to improving the quality of life at the community level. A summary report of the research results will be distributed to all interview participants. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from March 18, 2016 to June 1, 2016.