Science and Research Committee on June 11th, 2024

[Dr. Katherine Wilson]

I don't know. I'd have to get back to you on that. However, our smart buoys are manufactured in Nain, Nunatsiavut, by youth at risk.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Fabulous. I encourage you to continue your good work in this regard.

I'm switching over to Aurora College.

It's a fabulous institution up in the north. Going through the website a little bit, there are a fair number of scholarships and bursaries. That's fabulous. Some of the programs you offer are surface mining, underground mining and mineral processing operator.

Could you tell us more about the importance of resources in the Arctic and ways that your college is contributing to the resource sector?

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

Thank you for the question.

Our college has a large focus on vocational training or training required by industry. There is a long history where the college has worked with the mines within the territory through the Mine Training Society and other such organizations to train Northwest Territories residents to prepare for careers in emerging economic opportunities.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Since 2015, the regulatory changes that the Liberals enacted have really stopped exploration and new mines coming online.

What is your plan? We do know that there are no mines scheduled to open in the next decade and a lot of resource-based workers are up there.

What happens to these courses when those jobs aren't there?

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

Currently there is a large focus on training for reclamation. There are a significant number of oil and gas sites, as well as mining sites, that require reclamation. There are some significant opportunities to train northerners to take careers that take advantage of these work opportunities as they present themselves.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Once a mine goes through that process, though, that work ends. Is that correct?

Once that current mine—if we're talking about Northwest Territories, I believe it's diamonds—gets reclaimed, there's nothing on the horizon after for a new mine, I guess I'm saying.

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

I do not know the answer to that, but I do know that there's significant monitoring of reclamation. Some of those employment opportunities take many years, depending on the nature of the mine that's being reclaimed.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

During your presentation, you mentioned a few times about the community benefit.

Now looking back—we're a few months out of 2023—what were the success stories at the college? What are different examples where research has helped the community benefit, that you mentioned?

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

One example I can think of is work that has been conducted looking at alternative energy resources and the establishment of a wind turbine in Inuvik, after years of monitoring wind resources, that's available for the community. Supporting community adaptation of energy sources is one example.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

You brought up energy sources.

Have you done any work around the benefits of nuclear energy, hopefully in the north?

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

Our college has not engaged in any of that work.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Just as a last question on the research, we heard that different foreign states have been barred or have attempted to do some research in the north. In the past, has your college ever worked with the PRC or the government in Beijing?

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

No, not that I am aware of.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Of the researchers from different countries who do research out of the college, what countries are they from, mostly, if they are foreign?

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

The researchers using our facility in Inuvik are largely European researchers. We're seeing a fair number of researchers who are funded through the European climate research funding. Germany and Britain are the two main countries, although we're seeing a diversity of Europeans.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

It's a bit timely here. In the past organizations from Russia were welcomed, but right now is that a no go?

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

I don't think I have, in the 20 years with the college, seen Russians working out of the research facility in Inuvik.

[The Chair, Liberal, Valerie Bradford]

Thank you.

We now turn to MP Chen for six minutes, please.

[Shaun Chen, Liberal, Scarborough North, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for appearing today.

My question is for Aurora College. I'm very pleased to hear about your increasing research capacity in the north. You mentioned in your testimony that access to tri-council funding enabled your college to develop further mentorship opportunities and partnerships. Can you share with our committee some examples of the initiatives that came out with this increased funding?

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

As I reflect over the last 10 years of our ability to access this funding, some of the partnerships we engaged in were related to permafrost and permafrost impacts on infrastructure in the territory. That was one of our first tri-agency grants. We were also able to establish a technology access centre supporting arts and technology acquisition, largely in the Beaufort delta region in the northern end of the territory.

We also accessed funds to support remote sensing of methane, in collaboration with university and community partners. It allowed us to more easily participate in research networks such as ArcticNet, and to access tri-agency funds as well as the Canada Mountain Network, so there's a range of different things. We also accessed connection grants to support knowledge sharing, which allowed us to create capacity development opportunities that we share with communities, launch a northern journal—a range of different types of research, going from health, to social to physical research.

[Shaun Chen, Liberal, Scarborough North, ON]

That sounds wonderful.

You mentioned in your testimony that respecting indigenous self-determination is important in the research that is done in the north. In what ways can this be accomplished?

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

We really look to our indigenous partners to guide that, and it differs from each of the communities and indigenous regions that we work in. Certainly some of our partner organizations have research agreements, data handling, different types of knowledge return, co-development.... There's a whole range of differences, but they depend...community to community: Certainly the Inuvialuits have one set of requirements, the Gwich'in another. We work with our community partners—really, led by the indigenous organizations themselves—to tell us how we should be directing and focusing our research efforts to support their ability and governance.

[Shaun Chen, Liberal, Scarborough North, ON]

One challenge I have heard repeatedly in our committee study, from various witnesses, is that logistics are challenging. For researchers who hope to be on the ground, carrying out their studies, it is incredibly challenging. You discussed how a logistics hub, including over 300 researchers, really enabled the work you do to move forward, and you did mention a desperate need for a similar shared research centre. Can you expand on what that would look like and how you envision this being supported and funded through government?

[Pippa Seccombe-Hett]

Thank you for your question.

The Western Arctic Research Centre in Inuvik did replace aging infrastructure that was created by the federal government. It was funded by the Arctic research infrastructure fund in 2009 and opened in 2011. The application for this funding was co-developed with our regional partners—so our regional government as well as the Gwich'in Tribal Council and Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.

We looked together at what the benefits were from having the research centre there for 45 years and we built a vision of what it could support in the future. It's very much a shared facility where we can conduct STEM outreach activities with youth and students in the community, support the transient researchers that come through and also support college students and our in-house researchers. So it's very much a shared facility. We have multiple staff that book and manage the facility so that it is accessible to all, including community, regional, national and international groups.

It has purpose-built labs. It has workshops. It has storage so that we can offset a lot of the costs for researchers from the south coming up to work in that region. Whether it's freight handling, lab services, water, meeting spaces or whatever it may be, something along a similar line or perhaps larger would be required in the southern NWT or in south-central Northwest Territories because there's no infrastructure at all of that type.

But I think the common element is that with community that includes educational opportunities as well as the external research community so that it's shared infrastructure.

[The Chair, Liberal, Valerie Bradford]

Thank you. That's the time.