Natural Resources committee  Thank you for your question. To clarify, I am not actively doing research now. I'm reporting the greatest spill that was ever done experimentally and some of the results from the 1970s. There is work being done now in Canada, but it's actually at a lower level than what was done

Natural Resources committee  First of all, the presence of oil and the presence of biological activity make the ice much less reflective, and there's a lot more energy absorbed from the sun, so the melting processes are enhanced by the presence of oil. Secondly, the main conclusion of our work with regard t

Natural Resources committee  I'll summarize, then.

Natural Resources committee  There's one final thing I'd like to say.

Natural Resources committee  My recommendation is that, first, more research is needed to assess the degree of risk. Secondly, I recommend a moratorium on drilling that is not either on landfast ice or in shallow water areas until the required technological capability and scientific knowledge is in place.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, as a research scientist with Environment Canada, I was involved in the 1970s series of studies called the “Beaufort Sea project”, which included extensive research on the potential impacts of oil pollution in the A

Transport committee  For smaller oil spills, it is possible to do some cleanup. To my knowledge, and from my reading of the literature, it's very interesting that Canada and Norway are the only two countries that have ever conducted real oil spills in ice-covered waters. The Americans don't allow i

Transport committee  Yes.

Transport committee  Basically, you need to try to keep the risks from entering that particular zone.

Transport committee  I'd like to answer that. I just want to mention that this is the last day of the International Polar Year. The funding that flowed into that research activity is winding down, so there's an opportunity there to continue some of that incredibly good work. Some of it involves sur

Transport committee  That's exactly right. We have to do everything we can for prevention.

Transport committee  If you can surveil the environment and see ships coming that you know are not appropriately constructed for the ice conditions, you can prevent them from entering the zones where you feel there's a risk. That's one thing.

Transport committee  Yes, the Beaufort Sea project cost $12 million and took a couple of years. I believe that efforts, in 2009 dollars, of the same order of magnitude have to be undertaken. But even more important, I think there has to be a commitment to long-term support of some level of effort, wh

Transport committee  I'd like to make a brief comment on the surveillance issue. We're actually tasked at the Defence Science Advisory Board right now to look at the all-of-government issues associated with Arctic surveillance or Canadian surveillance. I believe there are committees in place now am

Transport committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, members of the committee and others. I'd like to thank the committee for offering me this opportunity to present this brief concerning Bill C-3 and to support the passage of Bill C-3. I think it will have a very important influenc