Sunday, July 17, 2005

What of the true North?

The CP reported today on Canada's failure to contribute both funds and leadership to international research on the Arctic:
Canada has already missed one target for announcing its intentions for 2007's International Polar Year, one of two years of global scientific focus expected to quadruple the number of international researchers in Canada's Arctic.

As a final September deadline approaches, officials admit they're trying to cobble together whatever funding they can, likely to be much less than originally hoped.

And they warn the delay is already hampering Canadian access to up to $1 billion in matching funds from international sources...

Canada's contribution will be nowhere near the $350 million scientists had hoped would be earmarked for research and infrastructure...

(Expected) spending could range from a low of $20 million to just over $100 million, he said.

The lack of involvement on this issue is bizarre from the federal government's standpoint. Canada is affected by the issues under study more than almost any other state; it has developments in progress to try to bring more people to its northern regions; and it's supposedly trying to push research and development generally. Yet scientists interested in Arctic research don't know how much money (if any) is available, and Canada is missing a chance to build up a good amount of infrastructure to encourage future growth in the North.

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