Derrick Pottle
Nunatsiavut Elder, hunter, carver, researcher and advocate.

Abigail Poole
NunatuKavut member, Memorial University Psychology graduate (Hons).

Stanley Oliver
Nunatsiavut beneficiary, Labrador advocate, Manager, TradesNL.

Jodie Ashini
Innu Heritage Guardian, Innu Nation.

Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo
Vice-provost, Labrador Campus and Dean, the School of Artic and Subartic Studies.

From December 2020 to March 2021, Labrador was four to six °C above normal: This means it was extremely warm; there were no cold spells; there were numerous warm spells; there was lots of snow; and it was terrible for ice.

There is an approximately 10 °C increase projected by 2100: By 2100 winter in Nain will look like St. John’s winter today; winter temperatures will look like spring today; fall temperatures will look like summer today.

Labrador is one of the fastest warming places in the North: Warming at three times the rate of the rest of the country, Labrador has lost an average of 10 to 15 days of sea ice cover.

Changes to sea ice: There are major changes in the sea ice that prevent people from getting around like they did in the past. Going back to the 60s, 70s, and 80s, it was common to hunt seals, snowmobile, and go on dog team on Lake Melville in late May and early June – in recent years, conditions become unsafe in April. The seasons dictate the way Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples operate; spring for hunting seal, cutting wood, ice fishing, and getting nets ready for the summer; summer for fishing and growing vegetables; fall for hunting geese and rabbits, and to go trapping; and winter for trapping, hunting, and fishing – now the weather is unpredictable and it is no longer safe for people to do what they once did.

Skills learned from Elders struggle to be passed down to youth today: Land-based skills, such as navigating, travelling safely, reading weather and ice patterns, knowing when ice is safe to cross, hunting, trapping, and preparing for trips is being lost. Future generations may not be able to continue these traditions and do the same things growing up as previous generations. Some things are slowly fading away from cultures because these lifestyles are reliant on the snow and the ice, and it is just not there for as long. Communities are also losing Elders, and that diverse and deep knowledge of surviving and thriving in the North is disappearing. It must be documented and preserved so that future generations know that this was a way of life.

Environmental changes are drastically impacting mental health: It can be quite jarring for people of Labrador, specifically in Indigenous communities, when their ability to go out on the land, to cabins to hunt, or fish, gather with family, or be on the land to support their overall wellbeing, is compromised due to climate change. These changes can influence people's overall wellness, sense of self, and sense of place and community, and can lead to an increase in unhealthy behaviours, and mental and emotional impacts, such as sadness, depression, anxiety, grief, and loss. These changes affect physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, as well as cultural identity and connection to land and community.

Food security is impacted when people cannot get out to fish, hunt, and trap: This affects what people eat, how people eat – not just for those who would normally fish, hunt or trap, but for others in the community who are physically unable to do so and rely on shared food from those who can. It is getting increasingly difficult to rely on these foods due to changing conductions, which is leaving people reliant on store-bought items which are expensive, often not as healthy, and not always available.