Canada: sea ice prevents crucial supply deliveries to isolated communities

Paulatuk, Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay were unable to receive shipments of food, fuel and lumber

Authorities in Canada's Arctic north are scrambling to transport critical supplies to three isolated communities after the early arrival of sea ice prevented delivery barges from reaching in the region.

Paulatuk, Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay, which have a combined population of nearly 3,000 people, have been unable to receive shipments of food, fuel and lumber after ice moving from the high Arctic sealed off the Amundsen Gulf.