Canadian Arctic researchers in need

Canadian scientists are lobbying the government to spend more on Arctic research.

A group of 42 of the country’s leading Arctic researchers have sent a letter to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien asking for a $25-million investment.

Arctic research funding in Canada stands at about 20¢ per capita, compared to about $3 in the U.S. and $2.50 in Australia, said a professor at the University of Guelph who tracks such things. Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Great Britain all fund Arctic research at a per-capita rate several times higher than Canada’s.

Scientists say they are regularly embarrassed on the international stage because they have to rely on data about their own country from foreign scientists.