Science and Research committee  There are challenges having a federal agency headquartered in Cambridge Bay on an Arctic island, and there are lots of challenges that go along with operating there. We have staff in Yukon, Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit in the north. We also have staff across Canada, working not just in the national capital region but in other locations as well, often co-located with other federal departments.

Science and Research committee  Even before that Arctic Council agreement, Canada was very attractive for international collaboration and partnership. The intent was to improve the mobility of researchers, infrastructures, samples and data. That agreement was enabled through three Arctic science ministerial meetings up until the last one in 2020.

Science and Research committee  I'm not sure how his calculations were made. I was in Iceland yesterday morning, and it's a much smaller country, so maybe the density per square metre of scientists is higher. Quite honestly, I think we have a wonderful community of researchers across Canada in the academic community, in government and, increasingly, in the north.

Science and Research committee  I think there are two things. There are the Canadian researchers, researchers who are trained and working in Canada, and there are researchers from other countries who are collaborators in conducting research in Canada. In my experience, there's been growth in both of those communities.

Science and Research committee  Thank you. I'll provide perhaps two answers. One, there's an important need to be able to share food in communities. When hunters, harvesters and fishers are out, they bring food back not just for themselves but also for elders and for the community. Traditionally, being able to have community freezers as a focal point for food sharing and food storage over seasons has been relatively easy.

Science and Research committee  That's an important question for all of us to think about. How do we ensure that the science policy nexus is something that is readily apparent on what those knowledge mobilization and knowledge-sharing pathways are to make sure that information is shared in a timely way, and also to make sure it's appropriate?

Science and Research committee  That's a very important question, because at the heart of being able to develop adaptation and mitigation responses is knowing what's changing and how quickly it is changing. Is it a cycle, or is it just a perturbation? Is it really a long-term directional change? For that, we need longer-term records.

Science and Research committee  I'm going to pass it to Andrew to talk about a caribou project that I think is relevant to that.

Science and Research committee  I would agree. Canada needs to be a leader in polar science and Arctic science across all of our north, not just in one area.

Science and Research committee  As I said, I think that in some areas we are still very much world leaders. Our expertise and our scientists are sought after as partners on international collaborative programs with other countries, and certainly within our own country there are many areas in which we are leaders.

Science and Research committee  Many departments and agencies are involved in supporting different aspects of Canada's Arctic science activities. Many of those organizations, like Polar Knowledge Canada, have frameworks or strategies that are focused on particular topics. What I think you're asking is whether there should be a national Arctic strategy.

Science and Research committee  Thank you for the question, Madam Chair. I might not entirely agree with my colleague Anne. We work together on a number of programs. I think it's important to recognize that we can't be leaders in absolutely everything, and there are many countries that have expertise that's very complementary and overlaps with Canadian expertise.

Science and Research committee  I've worked with Dr. Strong for many years, and so we have good lines of communication. We're certainly aware of the valuable work that's been conducted at PEARL over the last couple of decades. The Arctic's a big place, so we're working together to expand some of the observational capabilities that exist at PEARL and at CHARS, the Canadian High Arctic Research Station.

Science and Research committee  Well, both are important. The root causes of many of the environmental changes that are taking place are greenhouse gas emissions as a result of current energy consumption. Some of the impacts that influence people, infrastructure, economies and northern futures will require adaptation.

Science and Research committee  There is not only climate change but also variability from year to year in seasonality. That influences where people go to harvest, what time of year they go fishing or hunting for caribou in different places, and their understanding of the different landscapes or migratory pathways of species affected by the seasons or the conditions of sea ice.