Arctic projects get $2M from Irving Shipbuilding and Nunavut Research Institute

Nine applied research projects, ranging from making Arctic travel safer to ensuring marine animals are safe to eat, will split $2 million in funding from the Nunavut Research Institute (NRI) and Irving Shipbuilding.

"We have a wide variety of winners," said Mary Ellen Thomas, NRI's senior research officer. "We have winners from government. We have winners from academia. We have winners from here in Iqaluit."

Irving Shipbuilding created the fund as a condition of its multi-billion-dollar contract to build Arctic patrol vessels for the Government of Canada.

It's committed to spending 0.5 per cent of its contract revenues to help create a sustainable marine industry across Canada.

"It's to help us build products that make sense here in Nunavut," said Thomas, adding that projects needed to be practical, rather than theoretical.

Using local knowledge

Successful projects will also teach local residents how to conduct and use the research, Thomas says. 

"I think that that's exciting to have people not just watching other people from the outside doing things, but to be able to take charge and do your own research."

For researcher Dr. Susan Kutz, Northerners will be key to both collecting and using information these projects produce.

"There's a huge amount of knowledge held in the communities," she said. 

Kutz and co-researcher Dr. Sandie Black, both professors at the University of Calgary and veterinarians with the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, received $210,000 over three years to develop a monitoring program for the health of narwhal and Dolphin and Union caribou. 

"It's very important to engage with local communities, because they are the ones that are most dependent on these animals."

With an increase in Northern marine traffic and record declines in sea ice extent, Kutz says it's important for researchers to monitor the potential effects of climate change on the migration of Arctic mammals.

Nine projects chosen from dozens of proposals

An independent review committee made up of both scientists and Northern experts reviewed 26 proposals, Irving Shipbuilding said in a press release. 

Each project received part of the $2 million fund, although Thomas says the split wasn't equal, with projects ranging from $40,000 to $50,000 to more than $600,000. 

Irving Shipbuilding says it has connected with "contributing partners" to boost the money received by the nine projects by an additional $2.3 million.

Thomas says she hopes the fund will be renewed after the five years are up, because it creates opportunities for Arctic researchers and students. 

"That's a message that Inuit elders have been saying for ages," said Thomas. "We have to partner to get the job done."