| Summary: | This study examines Canada’s legal requirements and obligations for search and rescue (SAR) in the Canadian territory of Nunavut to determine the extent of Canada’s efforts in fulfilling its international duties with regards to search and rescue in the Arctic. This study determines that Canada has a longstanding and well-established national search and rescue program, and understands well the intricacies and difficulties of search and rescue in its Arctic region. Both hard law and due diligence efforts support this conclusion, and are analysed in this study along with guidelines, standard operating procedures and best practices to illustrate Canada’s holistic approach to their current and successful search and rescue program in Nunavut. Nevertheless, maritime traffic and activity in the Arctic waters of Nunavut are increasing. This study demonstrates that Canada’s Federal Arctic search and rescue program in Nunavut is lacking in certain critical areas, attributable foremost to Canada’s immense geographical scale and the difficulties of effectuating a comprehensive search and rescue program in the remote and challenging conditions of the Canadian Arctic. This thesis traces Canada’s Arctic search and rescue policy and program to its contemporary form, and culminates with an analysis of how Canada’s SAR program will cope in the changing decades to come.
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