Sinking in the Far North

How, I wondered with a shiver and a shudder, am I ever going to put this through on expenses?

Hotel $169.00
Breakfast $14.95
Lunch with interview $36.90
Ski-Doo replacement $15,000.00

It was mid-June 2005, and the Globe and Mail had dispatched me to cover Governor General Adrienne Clarkson’s “Farewell Tour” of the Far North. In her five years at Rideau Hall, she and her husband, the writer John Ralston Saul, had developed a deep passion for the North. She would be leaving office at the end of September after serving the full five-year term and being granted a one-year extension by Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Clarkson had been both a popular and a controversial Queen’s representative. She was the first visible minority and only the second woman to be appointed to the post. She worked hard, travelling all of the country and much of the world, which annoyed some Canadians who saw her lifestyle as lavish.

Below the waters of the Great Lakes lies the stuff of nightmares. The invasive sea lamprey, also known as the “vampire fish,” is a long snake-like creature with a suction cup mouth ringed with concentric rows of sharp teeth. Growing up to 60 centimetres long, the parasitic fish latches onto the side of other fish, then extends its tongue and drills a hole through the fish’s scales and skin. Once it’s in, the lamprey feeds on its prey’s blood and bodily fluids.

To make matters worse, the population in the Great Lakes exploded during COVID-19. Lake Huron alone has seen a dramatic increase from about 100,000 to nearly 200,000 sea lampreys. The sea lamprey, native to the Atlantic Ocean, originally entered the Great Lakes in the early 20th century through shipping canals before wreaking havoc on the Great Lakes fishery, killing fish in huge numbers. Since then, cross-border programs were put in place to control numbers using a lamprey-selective pesticide. But the program was curtailed in 2020 and 2021 because of travel restrictions related to the pandemic.

The lifelong friends sat down for a fireside chat at the RCGS headquarters to discuss exploration, how the two undersea explorers met and more

“When you have that moment of empowerment — when someone believes in you — all of a sudden, a switch is thrown in your head, and you believe it’s possible.”

James Cameron, ocean explorer and Oscar-winning director of Titanic, Avatar, Aliens and more, is our guest with Dr Joe MacInnis on this episode of Explore. The two friends took part in an intimate conversation honouring the important role that MacInnis, Cameron’s longtime mentor, played in his career and in ocean exploration. It’s a fascinating discussion about the future of our oceans, leadership and the importance of mentoring.

scenery! Expand your knowledge of the places we visit alongside Canadian Geographic ambassador Jenny Wong and Adventure Canada experts on this life-changing journey.

Also known affectionately as the Rock, Newfoundland is where hearty fishing families have endured for generations, wresting a living from the sea and developing a famously extroverted culture that’s rich in folk music, friendly humour, delightful dialects, and unique foods. The best way to see it all is the old way, by sea.

Check out these other upcoming trips:
- Consummate Explorer Package with Ocean Quest
- Patagonia Birds and Wildlife with Kim Gray
- New Brunswick and Grand Manan with Marlis Butcher