Help UArctic, Canada

The federal, provincial and territorial governments need to commit money to the University of the Arctic if Canadians are to live up to their international obligations, said Greg Poelzer, the university’s director of undergraduate studies, who works out of the University of Saskatchewan.

“Each of the countries depending on the size of their northern populations have been asked to contribute,” Poelzer said at a recent meeting in Whitehorse, Yukon. “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.”

The UArctic wants $2.5 million per year from Canada.

The UArctic website, www.uarctic.org, describes the university as an institution without walls, based on a cooperative network of universities, colleges, and other organizations “committed to higher education and research in the North.” Nunavut Arctic College is one of UArctic’s member institutions.