Remote Planning
I had travelled to the community of Coral Harbour to prepare for the final workshop twice- once in Spring 2022 and once more in the Fall 2022. Both visits, however, Leonard had been pre-occupied with seasonal activities, family obligations and health-care. As this research relationship was new, and all community members who had participated in monitoring activities and remote interviews had done so under Leonard's leadership, there was no community network to pivot to in his absence.
Eventually, the workshop agenda, timeline and dates were decided, over remote conference calls between Spring 2022 and Fall 2022.
Tension
It had become increasingly clear to me that the conditions for facilitating a workshop according to the principles of Ethical Engagement would be unlikely in Coral Harbour.
The research relationship had started to become increasingly tense. The final CIRNAC report, that was co-written by the southern scientists and co-PI Netser reflects on this tension in terms of "missteps" and "smart steps."
Missteps
Some of its missteps were attributed to submitting a grant before the Northern and Southern partners had been able to meet in person.
"Collaborating on this project without prior established relationships, has meant that we had to navigate cross-cultural differences and build trust, while also answering to project/funding timelines. Trajectories which do not always operate on similar agendas or smoothly in tandem[1].
Other missteps were attributed to a lack of clarity in terms of roles, compensation and responsibilities.
"The pandemic inadvertently defined rolls as the Northerners were confined to Coral Harbour and the Southerners were confined to Queens. At the end of the pandemic the lack of clear roles and need to finish the projects led to tensions among the team[2]."
The CIRNAC report, finally even includes a reflection on the positioning of Southern co-PI's:
"The lack of clear roles was exacerbated with the final workshop. In particular, Peter played a larger role than expected in actualizing the workshop. While he did so with good intent and with a keen eye on the clock, the budget, and required reportage — the net affect was to exclude Leonard from leadership. This was the ‘old way’ and undermining of Leonard. More inclusive research design and clear roles would have pre-empted the above[3]."
Absence
Despite our collective decision to host the final workshop for Coral Harbour in the last week of November, both Leonard and the Coral Harbour HTO turned out to be absent during the final workshop. The HTO had been scheduled to go to the annual regional Caribou meeting, and Leonard's eldest daughter was due to deliver here baby during the week of the workshop.