Economic Activities Iqaluit's main natural resources are plants and animals. Two main plants found in Iqaluit are eriophorum callitrix (arctic cotton) and rubus chamaemorus (cloudberry).
The seed heads of arctic cotton are used as wicks in oil lamps. They are put into babies' pants to act as a diaper. Arctic cotton is also food for snow geese and caribou. Cloudberry is a plant that has edible fruit, the size of it similar to raspberry. The fruit is first a pale red, then turns to amber when it is ripe. Cloudberry is mixed with seal oil, reindeer or caribou fat and sugar to make Akutaq (eskimo ice-cream). Also, it is used to fight off scurvy because it is very high in vitamin C. The main animals found in and around Iqaluit are: caribou, whales, polar bears, birds, seals and fish. The animal meat is used for food, the hide for clothes, and the bones and antlers are used for tools. |
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Industries:
The jobs in Iqaluit are mostly resource and service-based. Fishing, sealing, trapping, harvesting of the country's food and potential mining are all jobs in the primary industry. They are important, but not as important as the jobs in the tertiary industry. Iqaluit is largely government based. Many of the people with jobs work in territorial and federal government offices. They also work in communications, transportation and tourism service industries. Some people work in the quaternary industry, making carvings and handcrafts.Surprisingly, the unemployment rate in 2001 was 23.6%.
I think that some of these activities are sustainable.The people of Iqaluit do not waste their resources. When hunting for food, the Iqalummiut use all parts of the animal. For example, as said in a previous paragraph, a caribou's antlers are used for tools, its meat used for food and its hide used for clothes.
The economy in Iqaluit is unsustainable. Iqaluit lacks infrastructure, stable employees and wealth-creating capital. I think that if the population of Iqaluit grew, the city would be more sustainable. Also, there are some projects going on to increase sustainability. One project is the plateau subdivision. The city council and people of Iqaluit are developing a subdivision that is based on sustainable principles. They're building houses that are more eco-friendly and use less resources. You can read more about this project here.
The jobs in Iqaluit are mostly resource and service-based. Fishing, sealing, trapping, harvesting of the country's food and potential mining are all jobs in the primary industry. They are important, but not as important as the jobs in the tertiary industry. Iqaluit is largely government based. Many of the people with jobs work in territorial and federal government offices. They also work in communications, transportation and tourism service industries. Some people work in the quaternary industry, making carvings and handcrafts.Surprisingly, the unemployment rate in 2001 was 23.6%.
I think that some of these activities are sustainable.The people of Iqaluit do not waste their resources. When hunting for food, the Iqalummiut use all parts of the animal. For example, as said in a previous paragraph, a caribou's antlers are used for tools, its meat used for food and its hide used for clothes.
The economy in Iqaluit is unsustainable. Iqaluit lacks infrastructure, stable employees and wealth-creating capital. I think that if the population of Iqaluit grew, the city would be more sustainable. Also, there are some projects going on to increase sustainability. One project is the plateau subdivision. The city council and people of Iqaluit are developing a subdivision that is based on sustainable principles. They're building houses that are more eco-friendly and use less resources. You can read more about this project here.