OLD CROW – Canada’s territorial premiers unveiled their shared vision Friday to ramp up scientific research and innovation in the North.

That venture will be led by northern scientists, and will involve the incorporatation of traditional knowledge.

Premiers Darrell Pasloski of the Yukon, Bob McLeod of Northwest Territories and Peter Taptuna from Nunavut presented the Pan-Northern Approach to Science on day two of the 14th annual Northern Premiers’ Forum in Old Crow.

The so-called “vision document” outlines in broad terms a commitment to expand scientific research and traditional knowledge gathering in the North, and to use new data and discoveries to inform policies on climate change, food security, transportation infrastructure and more.

The document doesn’t get into specifics, but touches on promoting science education in schools, evolving Yukon College into a university, and the importance of engaging with First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities, and other northern residents.

Partnering with indigenous communities, the private sector and the Canadian scientific community, and securing support from the federal government, will be instrumental in moving the Pan-Northern Approach to Science from dream to reality.

Another thing the document doesn’t do is make any kind of financial commitment to scientific research in the North.

“It’s a vision document, so it’s not articulating specific projects, what it’s saying is that in the North, we need to focus on partnerships,” Pasloski told a press conference in the foyer of Chief Zzeh Gitlit School in Old Crow.

The event at the school capped off the 2016 Northern Premiers’ Forum.

“There’s a lot of research that happens in the North from institutions – educational institutions, universities – down south. We have the opportunity to develop more scientific capacity here in the North,” said Pasloski.

McLeod spoke of the northern premiers’ shared desire to see northern institutions leading northern projects.

“Because we don’t have a northern university, we’re missing out on the ability to access significant research dollars that are only available to universities,” he said.

McLeod pointed to the Canadian High Arctic Research Station in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, which will be a hub for Arctic science and tech research, and support scientists in the field, when construction is completed in 2017. 

“We will make sure that we’re part of that development and we can provide more northern science because we’re a very unique part of Canada and the world,” he said.

McLeod added that he wants to see more research done on how climate change is affecting the territories and cited impacts on ice formation, wild life, roads, forest fires and water levels as potential areas of study.

He also said that it’s important to understand how territorial governments can protect the environment and still carry out development projects.

Pasloski said the Pan-Northern Approach to Science will help orient researchers toward the needs of northern communities.

The hope is that future research done in the North will benefit the people who live here, and will have real-world application, be it to housing or infrastructure or resource development.

“I’m a science guy,” said Pasloski, who worked as a pharmacist before entering politics.

“I do believe that we create that understanding through science and it’s through that knowledge base that we’re able to broaden our understanding of the north, and that allows us to make better decisions... for the future.”

Apart from their shared desire to enhance science north of 60, the three territorial leaders expressed the urgent need for housing and transportation infrastructure investments in the territories.

The Yukon could use about $1 billion for new and improved infrastructure, Pasloski said, and acknowledged that “there is a deficit” in infrastructure across the territory.

He said his government is working at tapping into the New Building Canada Fund, a pool of federal money for infrastructure projects in small communities.

“We are listening to the communities and prioritizing those projects that are important to them,” he said.

“As we know, (when) you move forward with these infrastructure projects, it creates good jobs.

These investments will ensure that the best economic opportunity for the future. It’s always a win-win for the short-term and also for the long-term.”

Taptuna said the cost of living in Nunavut is inordinately high because the only transportation in and out of his territory in winter is by air.

“In Nunavut, it’s been estimated around a $6-billion infrastructure deficit, that being airport, marine facilities and roads, transportation linkages, including fibre optics. That’s one of the things that we continually talk to our federal partners on,” Taptuna said.

That $6-billion estimate was made a number of years ago, he said, and is likely much higher today.

“At this point, there’s a need for over 3,000 new (housing) units. Again, if you want healthy, northern communities, the basics have to be met, and at this time, we do need assistance from our federal partners in that.”

The Yukon premier raised the necessity of stable and predictable federal transfer payments to the territories.

“That’s something that’s important to all of us as jurisdictions, especially when it comes to being able to do our planning and do our budgeting on delivering programs and services for northern people,” he said.

The premiers covered a lot of ground at their closed-door meetings last Thursday in Dawson City and on Friday in Old Crow, and ways of engaging the federal government was a top priority.

They discussed a range of subjects including health care, housing, climate change, tourism marketing, food security and search and rescue operations in the territories.