Thank you for the opportunity to speak as a witness.
As we are now seeing, climate change is happening in the north at unprecedented rates—more than two to three times faster than the rest of the world. The consequences are dramatically affecting northern communities and all of us in the south. Melting glaciers and rising oceans are affecting coastal communities, whose houses are under threat of falling into the sea. Safe access to hunting grounds is impeded due to unpredictable weather. Wildfires are devastating communities and ecosystems while acting as vectors for long-term transformation and accumulation of contaminants. These are just a few of the many dramatic impacts that demand investment in science to better understand and prepare for change and to monitor how systems are evolving and interacting, from sea ice to human health.
After a pandemic and at a time of intense geopolitical tension, we should keep in mind a few lessons.
Decisions must be based on evidence emanating from science and indigenous knowledge. Science can be humanity's exit strategy from a crisis, whether it's a pandemic or the cumulative effects of climate change.
Cross-cultural, national and international collaborations are key to developing and deploying solutions.
The need for science in understanding and mitigating the effects of climate change and biodiversity decline is the most pressing issue of our time, in my opinion. The need for indigenous knowledge is also critical in recognizing and respecting its importance in understanding the north and the globe in a more holistic way.
One of the most important lessons we have learned at ArcticNet is that research in the north is completely different from research in the south. It requires more time to build and nurture relationships, to co-develop projects and to exchange throughout a project's lifespan. It requires more travel and therefore more funds, as work in the north is tremendously expensive and can be dangerous, with people needing the right safety and cultural training to ethically work with communities.
Northern indigenous people currently have access to several funding pots, but they do not necessarily have the capacity yet, nor the pool of researchers, to apply and fulfill these mandates. The partnerships with academic institutions remain critical for upholding our commitments to achieving knowledge advancement in the north. There are certainly not enough funds for researchers in post-secondary institutions, given the realities mentioned earlier of conducting northern research and the required engagement and relationship building.
Inadequate research infrastructure is hindering the progress of Arctic research. A few great research centres are operational within the vast territory of the north, such as the Nunavut Research Centre, the Nunavut Research Institute and Aurora College, but out of 60-plus research stations, only one, operated by Polar Knowledge Canada, receives adequate funding. The 60-plus stations, which are distributed across all northern geographic regions and ecosystems, are in dire need of operations and maintenance funds. This is urgent, to ensure that safe and well-equipped stations are accessible to locals and researchers.
ArcticNet, the polar continental shelf program, the centre for northern studies, Amundsen Science and many others offer logistical support to access remote stations, vessels and sites, but again, funding does not meet the demand. Investing in northern-led and indigenous-led research has become the mantra of the north, yet we must recognize that this will take time and considerable investments. Funds must be invested in training and capacity building in the north, but this should not be to the detriment of academic research in partnership with communities. That's to ensure we are exploring emerging issues and that there are no gaps in long-term monitoring initiatives.
It should be noted that capacity and readiness are not homogeneous across northern communities, as some are extremely effective at conducting research while others are not there yet. Each nation and territory has its distinct issues and aspirations, and decisions must be made according to local, regional and cultural distinctions.
Conducting research in the north is far from perfect, but giant strides have been taken to engage more meaningfully with indigenous partners and to support reconciliation through self-determined research. How we do research in the north is just as important as what research we do. One approach that ArcticNet has seen as effective is applying the principles of the national Inuit strategy on research in our projects. ArcticNet has also created the world's first Inuit-led research program, and there are opportunities to build on this.
Investment in northern research contributes to sovereignty and national security and increases resilience to climate change and reconciliation, while upholding Canada as a leader in Arctic research and indigenous partnerships.
Thank you.