The federal, provincial and territorial governments need to commit real dollars to the University of the Arctic (UA) if Canadians are to live up to their international obligations.

That's the view of Greg Poelzer, the university's director of undergraduate studies, who is visiting Whitehorse this week.

Poelzer works out of the University of Saskatchewan. While the many nations' governments that help make up the university's membership have already committed to funding the international initiative, he said Tuesday, the various levels of Canadian governments have yet to commit to ongoing funding.

'Each of the countries depending on the size of their northern populations have been asked to contribute,' Poelzer said.

'Norway and Finland have been extremely good, going above and beyond the call of duty.

'What we don't have from Canada, and we're at a critical stage of the development process, is that multiyear sustained funding so that we can continue on,' Poelzer said.

The UA is seeking $2.5 million per year in ongoing funding from the various levels of Canadian government as part of Canada's commitment to the international initiative, he said.

According to the UA website, www.uarctic.org, the university is a 'cooperative network of universities, colleges, and other organizations committed to higher education and research in the North.'

The UA offers online learning opportunities, the sharing of research between education institutions across the academic world, an internationally available curriculum jointly developed in a variety of countries and the opportunity for students to study abroad.

The UA states that the initiative seeks to:

ï Empower residents of the circumpolar North by building human capital through education.

ï Reduce barriers to higher education in the North in order to provide increased opportunities to northerners.

ï Develop initiatives in partnership with our community, and particularly with indigenous peoples, that are responsive to their needs and support their aspirations.

ï Create shared knowledge and provide for quality discussion on contemporary issues related to the circumpolar North.

ï Build a shared regional identity, while valuing inclusiveness and respect for diversity across the region.

ï Strengthen the circumpolar North's role in the world by increasing knowledge about Arctic issues.

The 60-plus UA members span the globe and include, but is not exclusive to, Yukon College, McGill University, the Russian Training Centre, Helsinki University of Technology (Finland), Iceland University of Education, University of Greenland, Kamchatka State University of Education (Russia), Mid Sweden University, Tromso University College (Norway), UHI Millennium Institute (United Kingdom), University of Saskatchewan, University of Manitoba and Yakutsk Agricultural Academy.

Amanda Graham, who works out of Yukon College, has taught several courses on the North and describes the UA as university without walls which is important for 'capacity building,' the sharing of research and the development of an academic curriculum that is relevant to people living and working in the North.

'The UA makes it much easier (for students) to get a degree because it puts us in touch with other institutions like us.

'It allows students to study about the circumpolar world and to meet people who are interested in northern studies,' Graham said.

She said the UA acts as an educational co-operative of various international circumpolar institutions which will further northern research, provide the Arctic people with a voice in policy making, facilitate dialogue on issues important to the North, provide Canadian students and instructors with opportunities to study and teach abroad and provide information on the Arctic from the Arctic to other regions of the world.

'We also want to deceminate information. We have (even) started a UA press,' she said.

Officials from the Yukon government and the federal Department of Foreign Affairs could not be reached for comment about the funding issue.

Anyone with any questions regarding the UA can e-mail uarctic@yukoncollege.yk.ca.