Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to meet with the committee this afternoon.
I'm here representing the International Arctic Science Committee. I have spent the last four years as president of IASC and sit on the executive committee. I am a professor at the University of Alberta, and I've also been a member of the Canadian Polar Commission board for the last four years, just so that relationship is clear.
I'd like to first say a few words about the significance of international cooperation in Arctic science, and then, second, emphasize the tremendous opportunity that the merger of CHARS and the Canadian Polar Commission presents for improving all aspects of Arctic research in Canada and our contribution globally.
The national strategies of all eight Arctic countries place a very significant importance on research and science as the basis for sound decision-making in Arctic affairs, and consequently improving the quality and relevance of Arctic research and ensuring that the timely access to this knowledge remains a priority for all Arctic countries.
It's also increasingly obvious that the Arctic is intimately connected to the rest of the planet, and I'll give a few examples in a minute. In a nutshell, Arctic science is global science. Canada is already a leader in this area, and the opportunity to improve our capacity will be increasingly relevant and valuable for the whole planet.
The International Arctic Science Committee is a non-governmental international scientific organization that was created by the eight Arctic states in 1990, to encourage and facilitate cooperation in all aspects of Arctic research, both natural and human sciences. IASC currently has 22 member countries that work to promote this type of scientific cooperation.
IASC provides a forum where scientists and the administrators of national polar programs meet to discuss their common interests and to plan research programs, assessments and other coordination activities that address urgent needs. In Canada, the Canadian Polar Commission is responsible for appointing scientific experts to IASC technical committees. These individuals are drawn from universities, government, and the private sector.
Overall, IASC provides mechanisms and instruments to support science development in the Arctic, and especially projects that are beyond the capability of any single nation. It can provide independent scientific advice about the Arctic region, and oversight to ensure that scientific data and information about the Arctic are safeguarded, freely exchangeable, and accessible to anyone who needs it.
We also have done a lot of work to support the training of the next generation of Arctic scientists, particularly working with northern residents and indigenous peoples in the Arctic. We engage with relevant science organizations around the world. As an observer of the Arctic Council, we can bring additional partners from non-Arctic countries into various Arctic Council activities.
I want to note that many Canadian scientists are playing key leadership roles in a number of Arctic research organizations, including Arctic Council, IASC, and the International Arctic Social Sciences Association. At the present time, Canadians lead the World Meteorological Organization and the International Council for Science. We talk with each other and think about ways that we can, as a country and within Canada, organize ourselves to be as successful as possible within these international contexts.
Now, the International Polar Year really did confirm that the Arctic is experiencing rapid and severe changes and that over the next decades these changes are going to accelerate. They affect not only the regional ecosystems, but also have far-reaching implications for the rest of the planet. We think of these as teleconnections, things that connect different parts of the globe. They're expressed in various ways in terms of contributions to sea level rise from melting ice sheets and glaciers; the loss of sea ice and snow that changes the colour of the planet, the albedo; greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost; black carbon from forest fires ending up on the snow, and other contaminants; and the weakening of the polar vortex and other changes.
The $150 million Canadian IPY program was the largest national investment, and it had a huge positive impact on Canadian science.
What we see now is that CHARS has the opportunity to be the point of contact for Canadians to continue to engage in international activities. Strengthening the CHARS mandate in the new legislation will be particularly important. In particular, we'd like to see CHARS take a whole-of-government and a whole-of-Canada approach. The new organization will bring together a part of our programs, but we see an opportunity for CHARS to have a strengthened mandate to make sure that Canada is well represented in these international fora.