St.FX awarded more than $1.3M for Arctic protection

From the Springboard Content Lab

The Government of Canada has awarded Springboard member St. Francis Xavier University $1,361,900 to fund a three-year project entitled Closing the Gaps: Addressing Critical Challenges in Arctic Ground Search and Rescue. 

Public Safety Canada is funding the initiative through the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SAR NIF), which annually provides funding for projects that will improve Canada’s search and rescue system.

The project is led by Dr. Peter Kikkert, St.FX Public Policy and Governance professor and Research Fellow at the Mulroney Institute of Government.

“Arctic SAR volunteers face harsh conditions, a changing environment, and vast search areas, often with limited assistance. This project builds on years of collaboration among researchers, Inuit responders and government partners, and will improve Arctic SAR by strengthening its governance, testing technology, and co-developing new capabilities, planning, and training tools rooted in Inuit Knowledge,”

– Dr. Peter Kikkert, St.FX Public Policy and Governance professor and Research Fellow at the Mulroney Institute

St.FX partnering with Dal, Memorial Nunavut and Nunavik

St. Francis Xavier University will partner with researchers from Springboard members Dalhousie University and Memorial University. Other partners include the federal government and community search and rescue responders from Nunavut and the Nunavik region to improve ground search and rescue prevention, preparedness and response by addressing some of the core challenges identified through previous research.

Dr. Kikkert pointed to the contributions of all project partners, in particular the Inuit responders, “who are the very foundation of this project.” These responders work in some of the harshest conditions in the world, and while more tourists, visitors and companies are coming to the north, often the search efforts can be personal. “Almost every responder has found a loved one deceased,” he said.

This funding will allow researchers to co-develop solutions and will allow us to continue this work, to have in-person meetings and co-develop planning rooted in Inuit Knowledge, and work on solutions that will help save lives “in the north, with the north, for the north.”

The funding announcement was made by Anthony Housefather, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resiliency.

“With the important work you do here at StFX, you will help improve our search and rescue work in the Arctic. Our new Canadian government works with people on the forefront of search and rescue. We invest in the communities, the professionals and the volunteers who put their lives on the line to get people home safely when they are in distress. The funding for projects like this one contributes to a broader system of safety that benefits us all.”

– Parliamentary Secretary Anthony Housefather

Program provides experience for students

St.FX President Dr. Andy Hakin said the funding will also support “exceptional research experiences for undergraduate students who will assist Dr. Kikkert in organizing and facilitating SAR roundtables in Nunavut and Nunavik.

Quick Facts:

• The search and rescue system draws on the resources and expertise of partners at all orders of government, Indigenous communities, volunteers, and the private sector to respond to people who are lost, missing or in distress.
• Public Safety Canada manages the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SAR NIF) in partnership with other federal, provincial and territorial SAR organizations, who together determine its annual priorities.
• SAR NIF is designed to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and innovation of SAR activities in Canada, and provides $7.6M annually in funding for projects that are selected through an objective merit-based process.
• The Government of Canada is committed to advancing SAR in Canada by funding projects with eligible organizations that share a commitment to minimize the risk of injury and loss of life while maintaining timely and effective search and rescue response. 

St.FX, Dalhousie and Memorial are members of the Springboard Network of 19 post-secondary institutions promoting research commercialization and industry collaborations in Atlantic Canada