Thank you for the opportunity to address the committee, Madam Chair, as president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council—or SSHRC, as we call it—and as chair of the steering committee for the tri-agency institutional programs secretariat, both of which work closely with the other federal research funding agencies on various Arctic-related research initiatives.
As you know, communities across northern Canada, many of which are indigenous, are among the most vulnerable to climate change. They are witnessing first-hand the devastating impacts a changing climate is having across Arctic ecosystems, livelihoods, health, indigenous culture and a traditional way of life that goes back several generations.
This reality reinforces the importance of research, including interdisciplinary work, to address the complex challenges faced in the Arctic. It also underscores the necessity for indigenous-led research to respond to locally defined research priorities.
SSHRC's current Arctic research initiatives build on the success of our past investments, such as those in ArcticNet and Sentinel North. These projects bring together scientists from various disciplines, with partners from northern communities, government agencies and the private sector, as well as international partners, to study the impacts of climate change in the Canadian north.
Through the tri-agency new frontiers in research fund, we are also aligned with the Scandinavian research councils' collective NordForsk's international research initiative on sustainable development of the Arctic to further promote large-scale interdisciplinary and collaborative research in the region. This international partnership includes Canada, the United States and several Nordic European countries.
Furthermore, through the New Frontiers and Research Fund, SSHRC will administer $20 million over four years to create new knowledge for sustainable development in the Arctic. It will expand our understanding of how best to address complex climate change impacting Canada’s north.
As a condition of joining the program, SSHRC stipulated that indigenous communities must be invited to participate in the design, development and leadership of any project deemed eligible for funding.
SSHRC also supports Arctic-related research through its core funding on such topics as climate change adaptation and mitigation, energy and resources, sustainable development, geopolitics, food security and many other areas. Between 2018 and mid-2023, SSHRC awarded over $67 million in funding to support northern research, including on Arctic-related topics. These grants are administered at post-secondary research institutions across Canada, but notably at Yukon University, Nunavut Arctic College and Aurora College in the Northwest Territories.
As I mentioned, SSHRC understands that indigenous rights to self-determination, as they relate Arctic research, include leadership of, and governance over, research conducted in their communities. This commitment is reinforced through the Strengthening Indigenous Research Capacity initiative, a priority of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee. It affirms indigenous knowledge systems, approaches to learning and means of sharing knowledge.
We developed a new category of funding eligibility for indigenous not-for-profit organizations as part of our response to Call to Action 65 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report.
There are currently 18 eligible indigenous institutions in this category. These include the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation in the Northwest Territories and the Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre in Nunavut.
Madam Chair, we're determined that northern researchers and communities, and the institutions that serve them, will play a central role in Arctic research, given the direct impacts climate change has on them.
I would be pleased to provide further insights into our Arctic-related research activities during the question and answer period.
Thank you.