Having received Royal Assent on December 16th, the new federal research organization, the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS), has been established. As reported by the "Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada" website, the new station will be located in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, and "will provide a suite of services for science and technology in Canada's North including a technology development centre, traditional knowledge centre, and advanced laboratories. The Station will attract international scientists to work in Canada and will strengthen Canada's leadership position in Arctic research.
Northerners are engaging in cutting-edge science and technology to address their needs in a changing North. This Station will be built by Canadians, in Canada's Arctic, and will be there to serve the world".
CHARS will have therefore two mandates, namely, it will be responsable for " advancing Canada's knowledge of the Arctic and strengthening Canadian leadership on polar science" and "technology by combining the resources and knowledge of the Canadian Polar Commission and Canadian High Arctic Research Station into a single federal organization".
Yesterday, the Candian Polar Commission welcomed the Royal Assent with the following press release: "The Canadian Polar Commission, Canada's primary polar knowledge agency, welcomes Royal Assent of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station Act, which it received today as part of Bill C-43. The Act will merge the mandates and functions of the Canadian Polar Commission and the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) in a single organization."
I am pleased that the Canadian High Arctic Research Station Act has received Royal Assent," said Nellie Cournoyea, Acting Chairperson of the Canadian Polar Commission. "The new organization will draw strength and vision from the broad national and international polar knowledge experience of the Canadian Polar Commission as it implements a national Arctic science and technology program and establishes a new world-class polar research facility in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. The new CHARS organization will enable the creation of new knowledge that will benefit all Canadians while addressing the pressing needs of northerners, especially in terms of economic development, stewardship of environment and wildlife, and health and well-being."CHARS will work closely with Aboriginal peoples of Canada's North and recognizes the importance of the broad range of Traditional Knowledge, as part of the new organization's mandate.
The CHARS Act's provisions will come into force on a date determined by the Governor in Council.The functions of the Canadian Polar Commission, among them connecting Canada to global polar science through formal membership on the International Arctic Science Committee and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, and communicating polar research information to Canadians, will continue in the new organization."
For more information about CHARS.