The Canadian Polar Commission, CPC, has responsibility for gathering, promoting and disseminating knowledge of the polar regions, including the Antarctic, contributing to public awareness of the importance of polar science to Canada; enhancing Canada’s international profile as a circumpolar nation; and recommending polar science policy direction to government.
In carrying out its mandate, the commission hosts conferences and workshops, publishes information on subjects of relevance to polar research and works closely with other governmental and non-governmental agencies to promote and support Canadian study of the polar regions. The commission established the Canadian Committee for Antarctic Research, CCAR, to serve as a national advisory body on Antarctic matters and to act as a link between the international Antarctic science community and Canadian scientists active in or seeking to become involved in Antarctic and/or bipolar research.
Information on projects involving Canadians in the Antarctic or on Antarctic-related subjects is submitted voluntarily to CCAR and published by the CPC. The July 2000 report entitled “Current Canadian Research Activities in the Antarctic, 1999-2000” identifies Canadian institutions working on a wide range of Antarctic themes including human adaptation, landscape evolution, ecology of extreme environments, paleoclimate reconstruction and ice sheet dynamics. The report also contains a bibliography of more than 80 Antarctic/bipolar scientific publications involving Canadians since 1997. “Current Canadian Research Activities in the Antarctic/ is updated on a periodic basis.
Canadians pursuing research activities in the Antarctic and on Antarctic-related subjects receive funding form a wide range of sources, including academic, governmental, non-governmental and private funders. Canadians also often partner their research efforts with national programs of other countries. As such, it is difficult to obtain accurate and reliable information on the share of the costs Antarctic research that is provided by the Canadian government.