Kim Han 

Siu-Ling was not only my daughter, she was also my best friend, the person I turned to when I, her mother, needed someone to talk to. Someone sensible, down-to-earth, and able to listen without judgement. She was our guiding light and the rock in our family. However, Siu-Ling was more than that. She was also a singer and songwriter, and a well-respected dog driver. 

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Growing up in Montreal and Ottawa, Siu-Ling graduated from the University of Waterloo with an MSc in biology. She fell in love with the Arctic when she travelled north as a research assistant at university. Siu-Ling worked for the Northern Contaminants Program, which led to the drafting of international protocols for persistent organic pollutants. In 1998, she moved to Nunavut and made Iqaluit her home, where she worked for Environment Canada. 

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In 2009, six years after her cancer diagnosis, Siu-Ling went on a 1000+ kilometre expedition along the east coast of Baffin Island with three friends. With help from Inuit hunters, she planned and executed the logistics needed to safely navigate challenging Arctic terrain and the placement of food caches along the route between Iqaluit and Pond Inlet.

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Siu-Ling is known as a person who made extraordinary efforts to cultivate deep and meaningful friendships. It has been said that she didn't just flit in and out of people's lives. Known as "the wise one," friends turned to her when faced with a problem or life-altering decision. As Head of Eastern Arctic’s program in wildlife management, Siu-Ling never lost sight of the fact that she was living in the land of Inuit. This understanding defined her work, and she ensured that the perspective of Inuit in wildlife management, at all levels, was heard. She embraced Inuit life, learned Inuktitut to better communicate with elders and hunters, and started a team of Inuit dogs, which she bred, raised and trained in a way that honoured Inuit cultural tradition for almost two decades. 

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Siu-Ling was an observer of human nature, a talented musician and songwriter. She quietly wrote songs to explore and relate to the world around her. Her CD To Those Who Would Show Kindness was launched days before she passed away. It is a deeply raw and personal album that explores love, pain, disappointment, friendship and most of all, the simple joy of living in the present. Set in the stark yet beautiful landscape of the Canadian Arctic, Siu-ling’s songs echo the darkness and light of the human condition and what it means to be alive. It was Siu-Ling’s wish that all proceeds of the CD support mental health initiatives for Inuit youth.