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Labrador , 293,347 square kilometres of subarctic wilderness on the northeastern edge of the Canadian Shield, is a place so desolate that it provoked Jacques Cartier to remark "I am rather inclined to believe that this is the land God gave to Cain". It's a land full of soaring mountains, unspoiled wilderness and cool, clean rivers that seem to run forever. The adjacent towns of Happy Valley-Goose Bay , located on the westernmost tip of the huge Hamilton Inlet, have an average maximum temperature of -16ºC/3ºF in January and an annual snowfall of 445cm, much of which remains on the ground for half the year. Further inland and up north the climate is even colder. Just thirty thousand people live in Labrador, concentrated in coastal villages that are linked by a ferry service from early July to mid-October, and inland mining areas that have only received road access in the last ten years - the road from Labrador City to Happy Valley-Goose Bay was completed in 1991. Travelling in and around Labrador is extremely costly as tourist facilities are lacking: many communities are accessible only by plane or boat and have very few, if any, places to stay or eat. Most visitors are adventure seekers who come to trek or paddle the coastline. But if you have good camping equipment, an adventurous spirit and a healthy budget, there are few landscapes that match the untouched, rugged beauty of the area. This barren terrain has long been a bone of contention between Quebec and Newfoundland, whose current common border was set in the 1920s by the Privy Council when it ordained that Newfoundland had jurisdiction not just over the undisputed northern shore - the traditional domain of Newfoundland fishermen - but also over the central Labrador plateau, from which the north shore's rivers drained. Newfoundland's territory was expanded by some 293,000 square kilometres, more than twice the size of the island itself, whilst Quebec was left ranting about anglophone imperialism. The border again became a problem in 1961, when it was decided to develop the hydroelectric potential of Labrador's Churchill Falls , a project that required Quebec's participation, as Quebec would have to buy some of the electricity if it were to be a viable scheme, and the power lines would encroach on its land as well. Eventually a compromise was reached whereby Newfoundland could receive Labrador's power via a toll-free route through Quebec, in return for which Quebec could tap the headwaters of five rivers in southern Labrador. However, the Quebecois remain indignant about their loss of territory and the issue is likely to be debated again as they move towards separation. The original owners of this land, the Naskapi, Innu and Inuit, who collectively number around five thousand, were more or less left alone until the last few decades, when the economic potential of Labrador was realized. Dams and mines have disrupted the local ecology - the Labrador Trough in western Labrador has the highest concentration of iron ore in North America, and in August 1997 Inuit and Innu set up blockades in an attempt to disrupt the construction of a nickel mine and mill at Voisey Bay, in northern Labrador. Even more destructive is the use of the area by Dutch, British and German air forces to practise wartime drills and bombing raids. Inuit have been imprisoned for staging sit-ins and chaining themselves to the gates of the Goose Bay air base, which is built on their land, and do not intend to halt the protests until the low-level sorties (up to ten thousand a year) and bombings are halted.
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