Science and Research Committee on May 9th, 2024

[Michel Allard]

In short, global warming encourages plant growth. Shrubs are currently becoming more abundant, especially on the tundra. These shrubs include dwarf birch and willow. This can be seen in satellite images. This changes the ground's thermal regime. In particular, it increases snow accumulation on the ground and causes permafrost degradation.

This also has many implications for indigenous people. For example, in some parts of Nunavik, caribou used to be hunted. Now, moose are found in these parts. In other places, people cultivated the land so they could pick berries. They can't now, because the shrubs are taking up all the space and smothering the berries. This major change, related to climate change, has side effects.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

I gather that global warming is likely to melt or thaw permafrost, which contains carbon dioxide and methane captured over thousands of years. The release of methane will speed up global warming. It's a vicious cycle.

[Michel Allard]

Yes. That's the permafrost carbon feedback that I referred to earlier. Across Canada, we could work with some communities. We want the chance to work with them on this issue to make sure that everyone understands the state of the environment and also to study the actual carbon footprint. Personally, I think that this feedback is a bit overestimated. Honestly, I think that we scared people a bit.

That said, I think that this feedback should really be measured. In Nunavik, for example, we observed that permafrost degradation led to the accumulation of peat bogs, which are carbon sinks. We see this in other places as well. Studies in Alaska showed this effect. We still need to take stock of the situation. However, we can calm our collective fears a bit.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Thank you for helping to allay my personal anxieties.

All these factors have a tangible impact on infrastructure, land subsidence and erosion. What research is needed to further protect infrastructure in northern communities?

[Michel Allard]

For a number of years, the federal government, through Transport Canada, had an excellent program called the northern transportation adaptation initiative.

People got together. They visited a number of northern communities. They worked on major projects, such as the Inuvik‑Tuktoyaktuk Highway, the Dempster Highway, the Alaska Highway—with the Alaskans—and the Iqaluit airport. It was this type of work. It was a model.

In my remarks, my final recommendation was to recreate an organization of this nature. This would involve creating a community adaptation initiative program in the north so that communities and researchers could work together on adaptation research.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

I recently read that northern communities could use a thermosiphon, a tool to stabilize permafrost.

Can you tell us about it? Does it work? What exactly is this tool?

[Michel Allard]

This tool is highly technical and it works well.

These are systems of pipes that run beneath the foundations of buildings and that extract the heat that the building transfers to the ground. Thermosiphons contain carbon dioxide, which rises in the tubes on the side of the building. This works in winter. In winter, as the gas cools, it condenses—turning to liquid—and flows into the tube beneath the building. This keeps the ground frozen beneath the buildings to prevent subsidence caused by permafrost degradation. When buildings come into contact with the ground, their heat is transferred below. This technique is designed for large buildings such as garages, warehouses and facilities on concrete slabs.

For houses, it's too expensive and it isn't the best solution. In this case, piles are a better solution.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Valerie Bradford]

Thank you very much. That was great.

We'll now turn to our second round.

It will be MP Soroka for five minutes.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and welcome to the position.

I'll start off with Mr. Cockney. No one's been asking you questions.

In the past, Jackie Jacobson and I'm sure many others have talked about how resource rich and cash poor the north is. What federal policies do you believe are creating barriers that reduce resource development in the north, and what changes would you propose to better harness the economic potential of the north's natural resources?

[Angus Cockney]

As you know, in the western Arctic, they say the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway is the road to resources. It's all market-driven. Back in the 1970s, when the first Trudeau was in office, he pumped a lot of money into companies to subsidize their exploration needs. The Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway has been a boon for tourism in Tuk. As for activity there, it's all market-driven for sure.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

In your view, do federal climate policies align with the economic realities and the environmental needs of northern communities? Could you propose alternative strategies that more effectively balance economic development with environmental protection in the Arctic?

[Angus Cockney]

I've seen action for sure. I know the government has climate adaptation programs that communities have accessed to try to mitigate what's happening, especially on the coastline.

How do we adapt? In Tuk, for sure they're in the mode of prevention. You see that with all the shoring up of the shoreline. It's not adaptation; it's prevention right now. How do we prevent that from further happening? I'm sure the project that's now occurring in Tuk won't be the last one.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Given the severe housing shortages in northern communities, how do you assess the current government's efforts in addressing this issue? Do you believe that there is too much red tape involved in housing?

[Angus Cockney]

From a community level, I was in Tuk a couple of weeks ago, and certainly the housing issue is evident. It's a challenge getting supplies and so on up there. It's a matter of will, I guess, for the government to inject resources, financial resources especially. I know that the government back in the residential school days had the will to build infrastructure, so I'm hoping that kind of will returns to housing.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

On federal support for science and research in the north, do you believe that current efforts are sufficient? What changes would you recommend to ensure that northern scientific research is adequately funded and aligned with the region's unique needs?

[Angus Cockney]

As far as sufficiency goes, it's never enough. It will always be ongoing if climate change continues. Certainly, we see that it has accelerated in the last decade or so.

As far as sufficiency goes, it will never be enough.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Henheffer, in your recent op-ed on the Canadian Arctic strategy, you pointed out concerns regarding foreign interests, particularly from China and Russia, in the Arctic. What specific threats do they pose to Canada's interests in the region, and do you believe that there are significant government failures when it comes to defence in the Arctic?

[Tom Henheffer]

I'm not an expert on defence, but in terms of the issue of monitoring, I think science and environmental monitoring need to be combined with security monitoring. There are massive swaths of the Arctic that aren't being monitored, and we're one of the only organizations with near-coastal ships that work in uncharted waters, which means that we don't know what's going on under them, with the exception of a few ships run by a private foundation, in addition to the government and local ships that are up there.

To go back to one of your earlier questions, one really key thing that I didn't get to in my opening statement is that, first off, there absolutely needs to be more funding for Arctic science. There's no question that it needs to increase. As Angus said, we'll never get to a point where everything is done, but what really needs to happen is funding to increase capacity in communities, especially around administration. Lots of these communities have maybe one or two administrative people, or none, and they're tasked with doing an enormous amount of work to get funding grants out the door, and that just isn't enough.

When the government announces $200 million or $250 million for big research projects for monitoring and running programming on lakes, as the Łutsel K’e do, who are in charge of a park in the east arm of Great Slave Lake, that money is allocated to science. There's very little allocated to training and capacity building within the communities. That needs to change. That needs to be included as well, because once that happens, you can grow the economy in these communities. You can get people having meaningful jobs and working towards building their own science initiatives.

[The Chair, Liberal, Valerie Bradford]

I'm sorry. That's our time, but thank you so much for those great questions and answers.

Now we will turn to MP Jaczek.

You will have the floor for five minutes.

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Markham—Stouffville, ON]

Thank you, Chair, and thank you to our witnesses for their presentations and testimony so far.

My first question is for Professor Allard.

Professor, you heard from Mr. Henheffer from the Arctic Research Foundation about what they've been working on—in other words, a national Arctic strategy. As I looked at the material prepared for us by our wonderful analysts, I was very much struck by how many institutions, colleges, universities and not-for-profits are involved in Arctic research, I'm sure with the very best of intentions, because we are all aware of the tremendous impact that climate change is having on the Arctic. However, do you see a need for increased collaboration? What kind of experience have you had in avoiding the duplication of research and in ensuring that we get good science done and that this knowledge is disseminated among the various groups and used appropriately?

[Michel Allard]

There are certainly a number of institutions. I'm thinking, for example, of Nunavut Arctic College; the Nunavut Research Institute; the Aurora College Research Institute located in Inuvik; and Yukon University located in Whitehorse. These organizations are growing on an intellectual and scientific capacity level. It's vital to work with them from a logistics perspective—they're on the land—but also to access a whole host of communities. The organizations represent these communities and they train people from these communities. Their collaboration is key.

Each community must be included. I agree with the other witnesses. Each community must have the opportunity to hold a forum or a meeting to voice its concerns.

I worked in Kugluktuk, a community in the western Arctic, where the concerns revolved around access to the land, for access to a park. The Inuit had their own solution to prevent damage to the tundra by all‑terrain vehicles, a mode of transportation that they adopted. We worked with them to ensure that their concept was technically sound. It was a great experience.

People from the Centre for Northern Studies work on Bylot Island, which is very close to Mittimatalik or Pond Inlet. They work closely with the communities, particularly on animal biology. Community members and regional organizations, such as the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, participate in the research.

Our greatest wish is to train people. That's what interests us. The level of education isn't very high. At this time, very few young indigenous people finish high school or college. It would be good to have institutions in the north to train young people and integrate them into research teams in order to further their training.

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Markham—Stouffville, ON]

Thank you very much. I think there are some concrete recommendations there.

Mr. Cockney, obviously you're part of the Arctic Research Foundation, which is clearly very interested in indigenous knowledge, observations and contributions to their research. What is your observation across the Arctic with all of these various institutions that currently exist? To what extent are they incorporating indigenous knowledge?

[Angus Cockney]

Thank you for that question.

As a side note, as far as building capacity goes, you'll have to talk hunters and trappers out of hunting and fishing to build capacity for sure.

Anyway, as to what I see across the Arctic, I think universities and researchers are really beginning to align themselves with community members. They're adopting the approach of asking, “What do you need? What are your priorities?” I know when we go into communities across the Arctic, we ask what they're interested in and how we can move forward with research and science in their area.

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Markham—Stouffville, ON]

That's encouraging.