Federal Liberal Leader Stephane Dion announced Friday afternoon he would help fund a Whitehorse climate research centre if his party is elected.

'I am happy to announce today that we will be making a significant contribution to your new Yukon Cold Climate Innovation Cluster (YCCIC),' he told a Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

'This will not only study and support the unique adaptation challenges of the North, but help your economy by developing and testing new northern sustainable technologies.'

The luncheon was held at the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel. It was the third stop of Dion's one-day visit through the Yukon's capital, following a breakfast at MacBride Museum and a visit to Whitehorse Elementary School.

The Leader of the Official Opposition told luncheon attendees what he had learned about the impacts of climate change in the Yukon.

'Here in the Yukon, our, weather patterns are dramatically changing, the Arctic ice cover is diminishing, the spruce bark beetle is invading our forests, our infrastructure is buckling under permafrost and our species so necessary for subsistence are being radically effected.'

The YCCIC proposes to research such climate change phenomena.

Dion would not say how significant a financial donation his hypothetical government would make to the YCCIC, but nonetheless supported the idea that Arctic sovereignty comes from the kind of knowledge about Arctic environment the centre proposes to research.

'We must provide the necessary support to ensure the ideas being generated here will help all circumpolar communities to implement innovative, environmentally sustainable technologies,' he said.

The YCCIC was proposed as an idea in 2004, and plans were formalized in 2006 with the formation of a board of directors, though it is yet to be developed.

Kirk Cameron, who sits on the board and is the managing director of the YCCIC, told the Star he was quite pleased with Dion's announcement, even if the financial support is hypothetical.

'It seems to me he'll be taking the message back, and it's coming from the top as Leader of the Opposition, so it should catch some attention there in the House of Commons,' Cameron said.

Dion said he would also be taking those messages with him to Bali this week, where he will be participating in international talks on climate change. He made no secret about what he hoped the conference's outcome would entail.

'I call on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to use the Bali conference as a way of salvaging Canada's international reputation by committing to absolute greenhouse gas reductions.'

After speaking to the chamber delegates, Dion and his entourage were off on a plane to Yellowknife (see story below).