Apr 8, 2025: Nunatsiaq News Features Research by Katrin Schmid
InfraNorth team member Katrin Schmid’s recent presentation on transport infrastructure and food sovereignty in Nunavut was featured in Nunatsiaq News, a local newspaper in the region. Schmid shared her findings at the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum in Iqaluit on April 8, 2025, in a public presentation titled “Country Food Cargo: How Transport Infrastructure Shapes Food Sovereignty in Nunavut.”
The Nunatsiaq News article, written by reporter Nehaa Bimal, highlights Schmid’s research in Iqaluit, Kimmirut, Pond Inlet, Resolute Bay, and Grise Fiord during 2022 and 2023. Throughout her fieldwork, the InfraNorth researcher conducted around 170 interviews with hunters, community leaders, civil servants, airport staff, shipping workers, and others. Her findings emphasize ongoing challenges in moving country food, particularly issues like spoilage, delays, and inadequate infrastructure for hunters.
Schmid’s research aims to foster conversations about the role of transport infrastructure in supporting or hindering access to country food in the region. As Nunatsiaq News noted, her findings rely heavily on direct quotes from community members and also include “several policy recommendations, including expanding regional cold storage hubs, modifying air cargo subsidies to support small businesses and co-operatives, and ensuring infrastructure developed for industry or defence is also accessible to local communities.”
