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À l’extrémité nord de la côte du Labrador se trouve une chaîne de hautes montagnes arides aux précipices abrupts qui s’enfonce dans les terres depuis la mer et que les Inuits d’autrefois considéraient comme la demeure de l’esprit suprême de leur mythologie. Le nom qu’ils donnaient à cette région, Torngait, signifie « lieu habité par les esprits » et s’explique par la présence de Torngarsoak, qu’ils croyaient maîtriser la vie des animaux marins et qu’ils représentaient sous la forme d’un ours polaire gigantesque. (Citation est tirée de GSC Memoir 91 : The Labrador Eskimo d’Ernest W. Hawkes, anthropologue qui a visité le Labrador en 1914 dans le cadre d’une expédition de la Commission géologique du Canada.)

A hiker was attacked by a polar bear in Torngat Mountains National Park on Wednesday night. (Parks Canada)

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."