Notes for an address by

The Honourable Chuck Strahl, PC, MP

Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and
Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-status Indians

announcing

International Polar Year Projects

Iqaluit, Nunavut
September 25, 2007

Check against delivery

Good afternoon Premier Okalik, Mayor Shetiaupik, ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to begin by noting that this is my first trip to Nunavut as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. I am very excited to be here and look forward to the next 3 days... especially the opportunity to meet so many good people who help make the North what it is today.

What's more, my visit is hard on the heels of a very successful trip to the Arctic by Prime Minister Stephen Harper last month, during which he clearly set out the Northern Agenda for Canada's New Government.

Our four priorities for the North are:

• Environmental protection;
• Improving Northern Governance, including the enhancements of federal policies, where appropriate, to ensure that the North has more control with respect to political and economic decisions;
• Energy and mineral resources development; and
• Canadian sovereignty.

Canada's New Government is committed to the North. We are working with the three territories and are moving quickly to improve opportunities for Northerners.

I'm very happy to have this opportunity to make an announcement under the International Polar Year projects.

Canada's investment in IPY 2007-2008 represents our strong commitment to understanding and protecting Canada's North.

It really is a historic initiative that will forever change our understanding of the polar regions. With participants from over 63 countries, it's the largest-ever international program for scientific research focused on the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Canada is taking an active leadership role in this effort because we are a major polar nation. We're committed to providing good stewardship over this unique and fragile environment. Climate change is the most profound challenge the region, our country, and indeed the whole world, has ever faced. So, we're making it a priority to study the impacts of climate change and ways of adapting to a changing climate as part of International Polar Year.

We're also committed to improving the quality of life for people who live, work and raise families in the North.

That's why another priority is to study health and well-being. It is important not to forget the human dimension in the midst of this push to advance polar science. I am proud to note that Canada actively promoted and was key to ensuring that the human dimension was included as an international IPY theme.

Canada's New Government has committed $150 million towards a strong and innovative program. This is the largest contribution of any country to IPY.

Today, I'm pleased to announce $17 million in International Polar Year funding for 10 research projects.

Canadian researchers are making the most of this opportunity and have come forward with creative ideas that will help answer important questions. For example, we have with us today Scott Lamoureux from Queen's University. He heads a team that is helping us understand how climate change is affecting the availability of freshwater. Water is crucial to ecosystem health in the arid High Arctic. And changing water availability could impact community supplies and industrial development.

We also have with us Shawn Donaldson, who is part of a project that is helping track changes in vegetation at the tree line. Northern communities at the tundra border are seeing differences in the distribution of trees and shrubs - and these changes have implications for wildlife and the local ecosystem that people depend on.

Some of the other projects we're announcing today will look at caribou, wild reindeer and polar bear populations. We're also supporting studies into wastewater treatment options to help develop stronger practices in Arctic communities.

I have no doubt that these and other innovative studies will set the stage for even more research and discovery in the years ahead.

One of the lasting benefits of our International Polar Year research is that we're making an effort to get local people involved. These science and research skills will leave a lasting legacy that will help Northerners monitor changes in the environment and develop resources in a sustainable way. And that will improve the quality of life for Northerners and all Canadians for many years to come.

In closing, I want to thank all the researchers, northern communities and our international partners for all the hard work that is going into making International Polar Year a great success.

Together, we're building our knowledge of the Arctic so we can better protect it for the benefit of Northerners and indeed of all Canadians.

Thanks again.