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Arctic College could get $11 million

Gabriel Zarate
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, April 2, 2009

IQALUIT - On Tuesday the federal government announced Nunavut's share of an $85 million fund designed to shore up much of the aging infrastructure for research in the Arctic.

One of the biggest-ticket items on the list is an upgrade to Nunavut Research Institute's facilities in Iqaluit, which stands to receive up to $11 million.

NNSL Photo/Graphic

Health Minister and Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq: "These investments will improve the quality of life for Northerners for many years to come as scientific, technological and indigenous knowledge is used to advance both social and economic goals." - Gabriel Zarate/NNSL photo q

"The old facilities have done their job but it's time for an upgrade," said Chuck Strahl, minister of Indian and Northern Affairs at a press conference on March 31.

Nunavut territorial government agencies will benefit from another $2 million for building and equipping a new research ship to study the fisheries in Nunavut's waters.

Resolute stands to be the single largest beneficiary among Nunavut's hamlets, with another $11 million directed at Natural Resources Canada's science facility there. The Polar Continental Shelf Project is engaged in a range of studies of the land, wildlife, people and history of the Far North.

Leona Aglukkaq, federal minister of Health and MP for Nunavut, reiterated Tuesday Ottawa's commitment to Arctic research and spoke of the impact of climate change on the North and its people and beyond.

"These environmental changers have implications beyond the North that affect all Canadians and global citizens," she said. Even farther north, the Eureka science station is getting $1.8 million for building upgrades and to enhance its communications capabilities. The atmospheric observatory has not been upgraded since 2005.

Other facilities on Ellesmere Island are also getting upgrades, which will help them map Canada's continental shelf – a critical point in Canada's assertion of Arctic sovereignty over its international rivals.

Other projects that affect Nunavut include Health Canada's monitoring of Arctic airborne contaminants, cabins for polar bear research and traditional knowledge collection in Gjoa Haven and Universite Laval's research network, which extends through Nunavut, Nunavik and Quebec.