Appearance before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts – March 6, 2023

Meeting scenario

Sequence of events

Appearance before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts
2022 Report 6 of the Auditor General of Canada – Arctic Waters Surveillance

Hybrid Meeting
(Zoom Video Conference and in Person)

Date: Monday March 6, 2023
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (EDT)

Event description

Deputy Ministers from ECCC, DND and TC have been invited to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on March 6, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. along with the Auditor General of Canada to discuss the Auditor General’s 2022 Report 6 – Arctic Waters Surveillance.

Officials will appear as part of a panel and will each deliver 5-minute opening statements usually beginning with an official from the Auditor General’s Office.

The panel will consist of the following officials:

Environment and Climate Change Canada

• Chris Forbes, Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Ken Macdonald, Executive Director, National Programs and Business Development, Meteorological Service of Canada

Department of National Defence

• Bill Matthews, Deputy Minister of the Department of National Defence
• Troy Crosby, Assistant Deputy Minister, Material
• Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, Commander, Royal Canadian Navy
• Rob Chambers, Assistant Deputy Minister, Infrastructure and Environment

Transport Canada

Arun Thangaraj, Deputy Minister of Transport Canada

Nick Robinson, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister Safety and Security

Office of the Auditor General of Canada (officials TBC)

• Karen Hogan, Auditor General of Canada
• Andrew Hayes, Deputy Auditor General of Canada
• Nicholas Swales, Principal

Hybrid Meeting – The meeting will be conducted through Zoom and in person. Although officials have the right to appear either in person or virtually, the committee has strongly requested that officials appear in person. The Auditor General will be appearing in person.

Official Invitation – Senior Parliamentary Affairs Officer, Adam Borden, will send out an official invitation to all officials ensuring that all pertinent information is contained within their respective schedules.

Event timeline

Logistics contact: Adam Borden
Senior Parliamentary Affairs Officer
Parliamentary Affairs Unit
Mobile: 613-716-7971
Email: adam.borden@ec.gc.ca

Opening remarks

Speech for Deputy Minister Chris Forbes, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Standing Committee on the Public Accounts Appearance: 2022 Report Audit 6 Office of the Auditor General: Arctic Waters Surveillance

Monday, March 6, 2023

House of Commons,
Ottawa, ON

Check Against Delivery

Thank you for your kind introduction, Mr. Chair.

I’m happy to meet with members of the committee, as Deputy Minister for Environment and Climate Change Canada, and to have this opportunity to speak to the 2022 Report Audit 6 of the Auditor General.

Joining me today, I have Ken Macdonald, Executive Director, National Programs and Business Development for the Meteorological Service of Canada.

Before I get started, I would like to recognize that we are meeting on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg, the original caretakers of the lands we share today.

As you know, Mr. Chair, Report Audit 6 focuses on water surveillance in the Arctic.

It looks at whether federal organizations have the tools and maritime domain awareness needed to monitor traffic and respond to safety and security incidents in this region.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is one of the five federal organizations identified in the scope of the audit.

The department is not directly involved in vessel traffic monitoring, Mr. Chair. However, it plays an active operational role in supporting transportation in the Arctic.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has offices and staff in all three territorial capitals.

It provides support in smaller and more remote communities such as Fort Smith, Resolute Bay, and Inuvik.

And it has several programs and initiatives in the area.

These cover a range of areas such as weather prediction; nature conservation and protection and biodiversity; and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

They also relate to reconciliation, a significant priority for the department, as well as research monitoring and international arctic cooperation. For example, the Meteorological Service of Canada, within Environment and Climate Change Canada, monitors weather and ice conditions, uses world-leading computer models to predict the evolution of those conditions, and provides services that support Canadians and Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic.

It has a wide range of meteorological and hydrological networks across the Arctic…through which it collects weather, water, and climate data, from the ground, upper atmosphere, and from space, in part through the RADARSAT Constellation Mission, which is Canada’s new generation of Earth observation satellites.

Data from these networks underpin the accurate and timely weather forecasts and warnings available to Canadians.

This includes daily marine weather forecasts for the navigable waters of Canadian territory…as well as marine weather and ice information for a broad area of international waters north of 60⁰.

The data also feeds into specialized weather forecasts and information that are provided to the Canadian Armed Forces on an ongoing basis, domestically and internationally, and include mission support for the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships when they are in the Arctic.

Mr. Chair, there’s also the Meteorological Service of Canada’s Canadian Ice Service.

It has specialized expertise in monitoring sea-ice and icebergs, ice detection and modelling.

And it provides operational support for maritime activities seven days a week to help ensure safe ice operations.

This includes direct support to Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy operations.

With longer and more widespread ice-free conditions in the ocean…and sea-ice decline, in some areas, as high as 20% per decade…it’s a critical service.

In addition, the department’s expertise in the North also supports our work to sustain Canada’s northern water resources and freshwater ecosystems.

Plus, it helps to improve our understanding of the earth-atmosphere system, global transport of pollutants and their interactions with the oceans, ice, and biosphere in the Arctic.

Mr. Chair, I’m going to stop here. At this time, I’m happy to take questions from members of the committee.

Background on audit

2022 Report 6 of the Auditor General – Arctic Water Surveillance

Background on the Audit and ECCC’s participation

Context

• In November 2022, the Auditor General of Canada released Report 6 on Artic Water Surveillance.
• There was limited reference to ECCC in the Auditor General’s Report, which investigated whether key federal organizations have built the maritime domain awareness required to monitor increased vessel traffic in Arctic waters.
• ECCC is not directly involved in vessel traffic monitoring but does play an active operational role in supporting transportation in the Arctic.

Report conclusions and key considerations

• The report’s overall conclusion is that, while organizations had identified gaps in maritime domain awareness, they had not taken sufficient measures to address them, and some measures progressed slowly and were inefficient.
• Although ECCC was included in the report’s conclusion, it mainly focused on National Defence, Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Canadian Coast Guard. The report found that the audited organizations lacked the ability to track vessels continuously, and that there were barriers that prevented efficiently sharing and integrating relevant information about vessel traffic in Arctic waters.
• The report also concluded that existing satellite services and infrastructure did not provide the capacity that federal organizations need to perform Arctic water surveillance.
• Despite ECCC’s reference in the conclusion, recommendations were primarily addressed to National Defence, Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, and Public Services and Procurement Canada. These departments have agreed with the recommendations.
• Initially, the scope of the audit did not include ECCC. It was broadened to include ECCC late in the audit investigation process. ECCC officials were not interviewed until the report drafting had already begun. The interview focused exclusively on ECCC’s role of analyzing RADARSAT Constellation Mission satellite data to look for and identify possible oil spills from vessels in the Arctic. There was no reference to this activity in the final report.
• ECCC is not specifically criticized in the report. In fact ECCC is only mentioned once in the introduction and then later in the final conclusion. Regardless, ECCC is identified along with National Defence, Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Canadian Coast Guard as one of the federal organizations that have primary surveillance roles that contribute to and depend on maritime domain awareness in the Arctic.

Questions and answers

Audit related Q&As

1. What are some of ECCC’s activities in the North and Arctic in terms of weather and environmental prediction?

• Canada has a huge Arctic coastline and a long history of activity in the northern regions. Our northern communities need state-of-the-art scientific knowledge and information about the evolution of the Arctic region in both the short and long term. ECCC’s Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) is constantly evolving to provide ongoing weather and climate science and forecasting services to meet Canadians’ changing needs. In Canada and around the world, we are focused on improving our understanding of environmental processes in the Polar Regions, and increasing our ability to forecast its weather and environmental conditions.
• ECCC provides daily weather forecasts for communities across the North as well as aviation weather forecasts on behalf of NAV CANADA for Arctic airports.
• ECCC monitors and charts sea ice conditions in support of marine navigation broadly and in support of the Canadian Coast Guard’s ice breaking program in particular.
• ECCC provides meteorological information to support the Canadian Armed Forces wherever they operate in the world, including the mission of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) when they are in the Arctic. ECCC also supports the Department of National Defense (DND) and it’s operations at Canadian Forces Station Alert on northern Ellesmere Island.
• The MSC operates a wide array of meteorological and hydrological networks to monitor and collect weather, water, and climate data from the ground and above from satellites, including across the Arctic.
• Data and information from these networks underpin the MSC’s ability to provide accurate and timely weather forecasts and warnings to allow Canadians to make informed decisions on a daily basis.
• The MSC observation assets in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut includes 81 automated weather stations, 11 upper air balloon launch stations, 10 lightning detection sites, 1 satellite receiving station, 2 moored marine buoys, and 43 active drifting buoys north of 65° (no geographical delineation). Further, the MSC has equipped a number of ships operating in the Arctic with weather observing equipment that provide valuable weather observations data from the Arctic waters.

2. In general what do we know about the status of water quality in the northern areas of Canada?

• From the annual Water Quality Index (WQI) results reported through Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicator (CESI), we know that water quality in northern regions generally falls into the good to excellent category in areas where there is little development, and tends to be lower where there are multiple pressures. These ratings have seen little change through time (2002-2019, Water quality in Canadian rivers - Canada.ca)
• Some long-term trends in parameters have been noted in large northern rivers including increasing nutrients and major ions. Most sites in the northern areas of Canada are classified as at low to moderate risk due to pressures and stressors within the basin linked to resource activities and climate change.

3. Given increased traffic in the North, what is ECCC’s role should there be an environmental emergency?

• ECCC is the federal authority responsible for providing scientific and environmental advice during an environmental emergency to reduce the impact on the environment, including in the Arctic.
• In the context of environmental emergency response, MSC supports the provision of products and services related to nuclear events, volcanic ash, smoke, and chemical, biological, and radiological releases. Specifically, to support ECCC’s National Environmental Emergency Centre during emergencies, the MSC provides response on a 24/7 basis for the atmospheric transport and dispersion modelling of pollutants. MSC also operates the Volcanic Ashes Advisory Centre (VAAC) of Montreal whose area of responsibility covers all of Canada, including the Canadian Arctic. VAAC Montreal makes use of atmospheric dispersion models and satellite imagery to issue volcanic ashes advisories, and contributes to the effort to keep international aviation over Canadian airspace safe.
• When a spill occurs, for example, the National Environmental Emergencies Centre (NEEC) assesses that all appropriate and reasonable mitigation actions to protect the environment are taken by the polluter. NEEC is available 24/7 to provide technical/scientific advice and assistance. This advice can include: identification of environmental priorities and environmental resources at risk, shoreline clean-up assessment techniques, fate and behavior of spilled products, appropriate clean-up countermeasures, modeling of spill trajectories, ice conditions, marine weather warnings and forecasts, and guidance on wildlife protection.
• Canadian Coast Guard is the lead federal agency responsible for ensuring an appropriate response to ship-source spills, mystery source spills, pollution incidents and spills from any source originating in foreign waters that impact Canadian waters. While the polluter is expected to respond, the Canadian Coast Guard will respond in capacity as the Incident Commander for the federal government.
• Other government departments or agencies (municipal, provincial, territorial or federal) could also have expertise and a legislative mandate consistent with their role, mandate and jurisdiction. Regardless of who is leading the response, ECCC will provide its expertise when requested and where ECCC’s support can enhance the protection of the environment.
• ECCC’s participation in the Integrated Satellite Tracking of Pollution (ISTOP) program uses a variety of satellite imagery to monitor waters and improve the response to oil spills. In the event of an oil spill, possible detections are signaled to regional enforcement and response agencies and the aircraft of Transport Canada’s National Aerial Surveillance Program. The ISTOP program monitoring reports provide information on the location of the spill, its areal extent and length, and nearby ship positions.
• The near-real time notification makes the most efficient use of the aircraft by pinpointing the area of interest in the vast ocean. Gathered by the flight crews, and supported by the satellite monitoring reports, this information is the evidence used to enforce domestic and international laws and conventions on pollution.
• The information is used by wildlife biologists and enforcement and emergency response personnel to monitor changes in polluters’ habits. Environment Canada’s Emergencies Science and Technology Section can supply computer-generated hindcast and forecast models of the origin of the oil slick and where it may have naturally dispersed.

4. Is ECCC fully equipped to respond to an environmental emergency in the north?

• To support environmental emergency response, as well as search and rescue efforts in the Arctic, improvements to the Regional Ice Ocean Prediction System (RIOPS) were implemented in 2019 and 2021. The system provides more accurate surface currents, as well as improved estimates of sea ice and ocean drift. The Canadian Hydrographic Service transforms RIOPS output into dynamic navigational charts in the new S-100 E-navigation standards that are produced in real time by MSC.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) exercises legal authority for environmental emergencies under a series of legislation (e.g., Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Fisheries Act, Emergency Management Act). These legal authorities are national in scope, and include Arctic regions. These legal authorities enable ECCC to execute Federal Emergency Response Plan Emergency Support Function #6 (Environment) which “includes the provision of environmental information and advice in response to emergencies related to polluting incidents, wildlife disease events or severe weather and other significant hydro-meteorological events” across Canada.
• Environmental emergencies officers can be deployed on-site to help at the scene of an emergency in the North as needed.
• As part of the Oceans Protection Plan 2.0 (OPP 2.0), ECCC will expand and strengthen its capacity to fulfill its role in emergency preparedness and response to marine spills in the Arctic.
• Under OPP 2.0, projects are being developed and implemented over the next 4 years including the collection of detailed shoreline information (via traditional helicopter videography and through the development of remote sensing methodologies) in order to create a comprehensive shoreline classification in priority areas of the Arctic. Additional information will also be collected on wildlife sensitivities in priority areas in collaboration with local communities. Data will be integrated to the environmental data in NEEC systems and other departments’ data repositories for use by Environmental Emergencies officers to support decision-making during the response to a spill.

5. How does ECCC use RADARSAT for weather reports and monitoring environmental emergencies in the north?

• The Environment and Climate Change Canada Automated Sea Ice Tracking System (ECCC-ASITS) generates sea ice motion products for the Arctic region using imagery from the RADARSAT Constellation Mission. These products are used within ECCC to support operational sea ice monitoring and forecasts and for science applications to enhance understanding of climate change impacts on sea ice conditions.
• ECCC relies heavily on satellite technology and data from the orbiting RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) for operational near-real time monitoring of sea/lake ice, marine winds and marine oil spill pollution, and forecasting.
• Weather forecast models use the RCM to detect, analyze and monitor the position of ice and icebergs. That information is then used as part of the initialization dataset of weather forecasting models. Iceberg detection is a critical element of the MSC’s Canadian Ice Service program.
• Synthetic Aperture Radar data provides surface wind speed analysis over bodies of water in the Arctic, and is used to help predict windstorms in the Arctic.
• Another application is the Integrated Satellite Tracking of Pollution (ISTOP) program at the Canadian Ice Service. ISTOP monitors the ice-free sectors of Canada’s (and adjacent) oceans for any potential “anomaly” that, if identified as a pollution event, is then referred to enforcement / emergency response partners for investigation. Due to interpretation challenges, ISTOP does not look for pollution where ice is present.
• Science &Technology Branch (the Climate Research Division) also uses extensive RCM datasets to track ice motion in the Arctic. They use the data in climate studies, and to measure changes in historic ice motion.

6. Given that the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) is nearing its end of life, what are the plans for the future RCM-like data?

• Canada’s primary use of RADARSAT is for analyzing and charting sea ice conditions—an activity carried out by the MSC’s Canadian Ice Service that is critical for our services to the Coast Guard.
• The RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) is approaching its designed end of life (2026).
• RCM was engineered for its own “graceful degradation”, meaning that it is highly probable that at least 2 of the 3 RCM satellites will remain in operation beyond 2026, and that at least 1 of the 3 satellites is likely to remain in operation through 2032.
• The Canadian Space Agency (CSA), with support from RCM user departments that include ECCC, funded four independent industry contractors to carry out options analyses that define solutions to address RADARSAT data continuity in the near term (2026-2032). The options analyses also proposed the evolution of Canada’s RADARSAT capabilities with innovative “next-generation” radar satellite systems for the long term (2033 and beyond).
• Based on output of these options analyses, the federal Satellite Earth Observation (SEO) community, co-championed by CSA, ECCC, and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), is actively exploring solutions to ensure RADARSAT data continuity. It does so through the development of new Canadian government-owned and operated satellites, the exploitation of commercial radar satellites, and the use of free and open data from radar satellites operated by foreign partners (Europe, Germany and Japan).

7. How does ECCC work with its U.S. counterparts regarding surveillance of Arctic waters?

• ECCC and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have a long-standing cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) where matters of joint interest are discussed, where either party can raise issues or concerns, and where operational or scientific coordination can be enabled. This MOU facilitates the exchange of information, technology and management practices, and supplies a mechanism through which to coordinate each organization’s efforts. Participants agreed to pursue activities that promote an improved understanding of the world’s oceans and Polar Regions. These activities permit collaboration in meteorological, hydrological, oceanographic, and climate research, and in observations, and applications development.
• The ongoing cooperation encouraged by the MOU includes partners’ participation in the National American Ice Service (NAIS) whose core members include ECCC’s Canadian Ice Service, the U.S. National Ice Center, and the U.S. Coast Guard’s International Ice Patrol. NAIS members strive for the open availability of all remotely-sensed, meteorological, and oceanographic data, whether original or derived, for the ice centers’ use.
• Members have the common goal of improving the consistency and efficiency of the production of ice information products, creating a harmonized suite of products and services for ice information for North American and international waters to serve the needs of users for safety of navigation and informed decision-making.
• With the Canadian Space Agency, ECCC is working on a study for a specialized satellite mission to observe the Arctic for weather and climate, greenhouse gases, air quality and space weather. NOAA has been actively participating on an international expert team for this Arctic Observing Mission (AOM), with discussions indicating a potential partnership that will see the mission cost-shared and with great benefits to both nations in terms of understanding the pan-arctic region.

General Q & A’s

8. What are some of the major projects ECCC is currently working on in the Arctic? What has the research shown?

• Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) conducts leading edge environmental and atmospheric research and monitoring in the Arctic yielding improvements in the following areas:
  • Understanding of the atmosphere, including the state of the ozone layer, the impacts to air quality from northern development activities and increasing human activity, and global transport and deposition of pollutants and their interactions with the oceans, ice and biosphere.
  • Weather and environmental forecast systems, including hazardous weather warnings that serve Canadians and the Canadian economy (e.g. service and natural resource industries such as transportation and energy).
  • Predictions of earth systems, including climate, air quality and numerical weather and environmental modelling capabilities across a range of geographic (spatial) and time (temporal) scales.
  • Chemicals management measures, including risk assessment and risk management.
• ECCC’s northern presence is supported by the foundational weather and atmospheric research and monitoring activities conducted at numerous sites as well as the following key high arctic research stations:

1. Alert, NU
   • The Dr. Neil Trivett World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) Observatory at Alert is one of three official GAW greenhouse gas inter-comparison sites and is the most northern permanently inhabited research station in the world.
   • ECCC (in partnership with DND who operates the Canadian Forces Station at Alert) operates this sentinel site to characterize the impact of northern hemisphere human activities on the Arctic atmosphere and ecosystem.
   • ECCC, with domestic and international partners, measures greenhouse gases (GHGs), aerosols (including black carbon), stratospheric and ground-level ozone, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), mercury, and Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) priority chemicals at this site (over 50 parameters are collected for the 13 research programs at the observatory).
   • STB (with support from CFSB, PSPC, and DND) is currently retrofitting the Observatory to address significant building deficiencies, thereby ensuring a safe and efficient science facility to support current and future Arctic research programs at Alert.
2. Resolute Bay, NU
   • Resolute Bay is one of Canada's northernmost communities and is second only to Grise Fiord on Ellesmere Island (Alert and Eureka are more northerly but are not considered towns). It is also one of the coldest inhabited places in the world.
   • Measurements of stratospheric (upper atmosphere) ozone have been conducted at Resolute Bay (site maintained by MSC & CSB) since 1966, making the Canadian record associated with this site the longest in the world. Measurements of surface concentrations of certain air pollutants (i.e., ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, and fine particulate matter) have been initiated at this site to help assess the impact of air pollutant emissions from ships on the Canadian Arctic.
   • STB played a lead scientific role in a major field campaign based out of Resolute Bay in 2014, in cooperation with NETCARE (Network for the Characterization of Aerosols in Remote Environments) under the Climate Change and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) program of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). This work has improved understanding of aerosol formation in the Arctic, and feeds into improved representation of aerosol processes in climate models.
3. Eureka, NU (PEARL)
   • ECCC (MSC & CSB) maintains a research facility at Eureka known as the Polar Environment Atmosphere Research Laboratory (PEARL) Ridge Laboratory. While ECCC owns and maintains the PEARL facility, research at the site is mainly conducted by a consortium known as the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change (CANDAC). This consortium, which is made up primarily of atmospheric researchers, garners its own funding to conduct research at PEARL.
4. Iqaluit, NU
   • Iqaluit is the major urban center in the Arctic region. It provides health support and manages the major airport serving all the east part of the Arctic. ECCC sustains a supersite aimed at providing key weather information for users such as marine and aviation, testing new developments in meteorological sensors of relevance for Arctic weather, and providing ground truth for satellite data validation. This is currently the best meteorological site in the Arctic that provides key measurements to further understanding the processes governing weather systems in the region.
   • Ambient air quality measurements are also conducted in Iqaluit. This air quality monitoring capacity was supplemented in 2014 to support collaborative efforts with Health Canada to characterize the impact of the dump fire on the air quality in the Iqaluit community.
5. Cambridge Bay, NU
   • ECCC conducts measurements of GHGs and POPs at the Cambridge Bay Upper Air Station (MSC), with plans to initiate mercury monitoring. These measurements are in part funded by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada’s Northern Contaminants Program (NCP).
   • Cambridge Bay is also home to the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) where there are a number of collaborative research initiatives being carried out that ECCC partakes in.
   • ECCC conducts leading edge monitoring and research in the Arctic to improve our understanding of the earth-atmosphere system, global transport of pollutants and their interactions with the oceans, ice and biosphere.

Air Quality Research

• Air quality research and measurements are made in the North with emphasis on stratospheric ozone, persistent organic pollutants, CMP priority chemicals, mercury and ambient air pollutants (e.g., ozone, fine particulate matter and NOx).
• These efforts help set the baseline and establish trends for air pollutants in order to understand the impact of human activity (both domestic and global) in the North, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of chemical control measures. ECCC researchers have measured the impacts of emissions from marine shipping on air quality in the Arctic to further develop the Arctic air quality model prototype and to inform decisions about emission reduction strategies.
• In addition to monitoring conducted at the Northern Research Stations listed above, air quality monitoring and research is conducted at 4 sites located in the Northwest Territories (Yellowknife, Snare Rapids, Wood Buffalo, and Inuvik), 2 additional sites in Nunavut (Cape Dorset and Coral Harbour) and 2 sites in the Yukon (Whitehorse and Little Fox Lake).

Climate Research

• ECCC collaborates with national and international partners to generate and disseminate new knowledge and data on climate change and variability that are paramount in the global effort to understand climate system behavior, human influences on climate and future climate scenarios. Research activities are focused in the following areas of particular relevance to Canada, including the Arctic where the magnitude of climate warming has been most pronounced:
  • Developing computer models of the climate system to simulate global and regional climate change, and predict seasonal and longer term climate variations.
  • Developing climate scenarios for climate change impact and adaptation research.
  • Climate change detection and attribution studies, including characterization of climate extremes and variability, for use in climate trend and variability analysis, to support the provision of climatic design information to guide infrastructure codes and standards, and for climate impacts research with a focus on water availability.
  • Cryosphere (snow and ice) and land surface research to characterize the role of surface - atmospheric processes in climate models, develop and validate new satellite-based observational capabilities and date records, and report on trends.
  • Monitoring of greenhouse gases enables characterization of anthropogenic and natural GHG sources and sinks at a regional scale, including implications of warming climate in Arctic regions. This monitoring network supports domestic legislation (CEPA, CARA) and international commitments (WMO, UNFCCC).
  • Greenhouse gas concentrations are measured at five sites in the Arctic (Alert, Baker Lake and Cambridge Bay, NU; and Inuvik and Behchoko, NT)
  • Chemical and physical properties of aerosols (including black carbon) are also measured at two sites in the Arctic (Alert and Resolute Bay, NU).

Meteorological Research

• Meteorological research and development is improving weather and environmental prediction for Canada and Canada’s Northern Territories. The goal of these improvements is to reduce the impact of weather and related hazards on the public and the economy. The research is the scientific foundation on which the operational weather and environmental prediction programs at ECCC are built.
• In collaboration with DFO, DND and the French Mercator Institute, ECCC conducts research and development in coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave-ice forecasting system. This supports Canada’s roles and responsibilities under the International Maritime Organization in the Arctic Ocean (METAREA) for meteorological and navigational monitoring and warning system.
• ECCC is involved in the interdepartmental CONCEPTS (The Canadian Operational Network of Coupled Environmental PredicTion Systems) initiative with DFO, DND, CCG, NRC and CSA to collaborate on the research, development and implementation of the operational coupled atmosphere-ocean-ice-assimilation and prediction systems in Canada. This work improves the uptake of marine environmental predictions by departments such as CCG and DND to positively impact their operations with improved planning and asset tasking during oil spills; for transport safety and efficient navigation, for platform/infrastructure evacuation ahead of severe events, for search and rescue; for ice management, for marine infrastructure design, and for support of marine environmental assessments.
• ECCC works closely with McGill and the Nunatsiavut Government on a field project on the Labrador coast to provide sea ice and weather information to local communities and study the dynamics of landfast ice cover. Such valuable information is used by local communities for fishing, hunting and travelling, and contributes to the improvement of ice prediction models.
• The results of this research yields improved: hazardous weather warnings; climate, air quality and numerical weather modelling capabilities at a range of time and space scales (short-term predictions to longer-term projections); understanding of the management of chemicals including risk assessment and risk management; determination of impacts to air quality from Northern development activities; and, understanding of environmental issues such as the long-range transport of pollutants and climate and atmospheric change.

9. What atmospheric science activities does ECCC carry out focussed on the Arctic?

• ECCC’s Science and Technology Branch conducts leading edge monitoring and research in the Arctic to improve our understanding of the earth-atmosphere system, global transport of pollutants and their interactions with the oceans, ice and biosphere. The results of this research yield improved: hazardous weather warnings; climate, air quality and numerical weather modelling capabilities at a range of time and space scales (short-term predictions to longer-term projections); understanding of the management of chemicals including risk assessment and risk management; determination of impacts to air quality from northern development activities; and, understanding of environmental issues such as the long-range transport of pollutants and climate and atmospheric change.

10. What freshwater science activities does ECCC carry out focussed on the Arctic?

• ECCC’s Science and Technology Branch conducts research and modelling that contributes to climate adaptation by generating new data and knowledge on climate change issues as they relate to freshwater ecosystems in the Arctic. ECCC research contributes to our understanding on the impacts of increasing threats from multiple stressors related to northern development, climate modification and atmospheric transport of contaminants on Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity. Ongoing research is contributing to identify, quantify, and predict the impacts of climate change and variability on water quantity and quality, to identify adaptation strategies to protect vulnerable water resources and freshwater ecosystems in northern Canada. ECCC’s scientific work in the Arctic involves collaboration and cost-sharing activities with other federal departments such as Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

11. What is ECCC’s role internationally for prediction services in the North?

• ECCC continues to develop modelling systems that are adapted to the North. ECCC also has taken a leading role in international efforts to advance the science behind improved weather and environmental prediction services for the Polar Regions.
• For example, over the last ten years, ECCC has been a significant contributor to the World Meteorological Organisation’s Polar Prediction Project (PPP). Our organization has been a main source of funding for the Project, and has contributed observations via technologies such as radiosondes, Lidar, and Argo floats. ECCC has also contributed to models such as the Canadian Artic Prediction System (CAPS), and to efforts to improve products and services in the North through engagement with the Canadian Ice Service and forecasters.
• As Canada’s contribution to the international METAREAs program, ECCC provides daily marine weather forecasts for the navigable waters of Canadian territory and also fulfils Canada’s international obligation by providing marine weather and ice information for a broad swath of international waters north of 60⁰—an area that includes all Arctic waters from north of Greenland, Canada and Alaska, to the North Pole.

12. What infrastructure and capacity supports the department’s freshwater science activities in the North?

• Freshwater science activities in the North are supported by an extensive network of research and monitoring sites across the three territories, and collaborative partnerships with federal, provincial and Indigenous partners that bolster the department’s freshwater science capacity and expertise. Notably, in collaboration with these partners, the department maintains a long-term freshwater quality monitoring network across the three territories comprised of 55 sites, some having been monitored since the 1960s. The Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network, known as CABIN, has seen more than 2000 samples collected at sites in the north by multiple partners, with the earliest samples collected in 1987. Water quality research sites are selected in response to the science questions being posed according to northern communities concerns in the Arctic.

13. How do the Eureka and Alert stations factor into ECCC operations in the North?

Eureka

• Eureka was the first Joint Arctic Weather Station (JAWS) established on April 7, 1947, and celebrated its 75th Anniversary on April 7, 2022. Eureka is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, approximately 400 km north of the closest permanent civilian settlement of Grise Fiord, Nunavut, and 480 km southwest of Canadian Forces Base Alert. Eureka is a Crown-owned real property asset, and is under the custodial responsibility of ECCC.
• Eureka is the third-northernmost permanent research community in the world, and is normally populated year-round by a minimum of eight staff on a rotational basis (one Station Manager, 3 Weather Observers, a Cook, a Handyperson and a Mechanic and Heavy Equipment Operator).
• The Eureka site is part of a network of High Arctic Weather Stations, and serves as both an operational weather station and science facility. It provides data and information essential to understanding climate change, and informs extreme weather prediction models in Canada and around the world.
• Daily observations are collected at the Eureka site, including upper air weather balloon launches (twice daily), automatic weather station observations, and human observations. The site supports the MSC’s core responsibility of predicting weather and environmental conditions.
• ECCC [*redacted*], for infrastructure investments at Eureka and surrounding facilities on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut to ensure the integrity of critical infrastructure that supports the year-round safety and security of staff and other users. These investments are necessary to maintain critical polar-region environmental observations, climate monitoring activities, and maintain Eureka as a key hub for Government of Canada operations and research in the Arctic.
• With respect to infrastructure, $15.3 million will be used to decommission 12 buildings at Eureka that are no longer in use and pose a health, safety and environmental risks. A further $71.9 million will be used to recapitalize existing key infrastructures, including the runway, freshwater reservoir, sewage system, fuel tanks, power house, main complex building, and the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory at Eureka.

Background/current status

• To support ongoing scientific research in the High Arctic, the Government of Canada made a commitment in Budget 2019 to invest in critical repairs and necessary upgrades to the Eureka and surrounding facilities on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut.
• These infrastructure investments are necessary to maintain critical polar-region environmental observations, climate-monitoring activities, and maintain Eureka as a key hub for Government of Canada operations and research in the Arctic.
• Eureka is a Crown-owned real property asset under the custodial responsibility of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). It is an important asset to Canada and is the third-northernmost permanent research community in the world. Eureka is part of a Canada-wide observation network to monitor changes in the weather, climate, water, ice and air quality and to obtain the data which is the foundation of weather and environmental prediction.
• The pandemic context has impacted planned work up north by reducing access for contractors to the site. Because of COVID-19, the contractor has been forced to reduce his workforce by half in 2020-21. As a result, the contractor was only expecting to complete half the amount of work (or half the runway construction) in 2020-21. In addition to the pandemic, a better adjustment of cash flow had to occur given the complexity of managing the various projects.
• Potential late reprofile of $15.1M from 2022-23 to future years. Some projects were delayed because there was limited space at Eureka for contractors and consultants due to covid restrictions. In addition, construction in the north is highly susceptible to weather and other factors. The construction season is very short and any equipment breakdowns have a noticeable impact on the project schedule.

Alert

• Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert is the northernmost, permanently-inhabited settlement in the world. It is situated on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island, 817 km from the North Pole.
• Alert was first settled in April 9, 1950 as part of the Joint Arctic Weather Stations (JAWS). The Canadian military station was established in 1958.
• The population of Alert is approximately 60 to 70 people, which includes members of the military, civilian employees of DND, and employees of ECCC (MSC and STB). There, ECCC has a Station Manager, a Weather Observer and an Air Quality Lab Operator.
• ECCC conducts two upper air weather balloon releases each day, 365 days a year, plus a weekly ozone-sonde flight. The surface weather station was automated in the summer of 1991.

14. Can satellite data be used to fill weather and climate observation gaps in the North?

• To operationalize its forecasting systems, the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) relies heavily on the use of satellite data. Data from geostationary and low Earth orbit satellites provide essential inputs that support the generation of our daily weather forecasts. MSC and its international partners recognize the need to increase the number of observations of the Arctic region so that we might improve weather forecasting and situational awareness for northern communities and the aviation and shipping sectors. Increasing the number of observations also enhances our ability to predict and prepare for extreme weather events. For example, we are now assimilating additional data taken from Canadian North and First Air aircraft, which provide meteorological information about the northern region.
• Satellites provide important data to strengthen weather and climate monitoring in the North where in situ observations can be challenging. Currently, weather forecasting north of ~55° relies on data from polar-orbiting meteorological satellites operated by foreign partners, including the USA and European Union. ECCC will install new satellite-data-receiving infrastructure in Alberta, Newfoundland, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut over the coming three years to ensure continued access to critical satellite data from new polar-orbiting satellites.
• While existing polar-orbiting satellites provide essential data for monitoring weather in the North, these satellites must orbit Earth multiple times to image the entire Canadian Arctic. To address the resulting spatial and temporal gaps in Arctic satellite data, ECCC and the Canadian Space Agency have been working in collaboration with the U.S., including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to advance a satellite mission known as the Arctic Observing Mission (AOM).
• If approved and implemented, AOM would enable ECCC to provide enhanced and more timely regional and local meteorological data and forecasts and would provide increased monitoring over the Arctic to address key priorities in support of climate change monitoring and adaptation, transportation, safety and security in the North.

2022 Report 6 – Arctic Waters Surveillance

Arctic Waters Surveillance – Report 6: Reports of the Auditor General of Canada

Overview of ECCC’s presence in the Arctic and North

Programming presence

• ECCC works with other federal government departments to support Government-wide Arctic and northern programs and policies such as the Arctic Northern Policy Framework, Inuit Nunangat Policy, and participation in the Arctic Council (i.e., Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna group).
• ECCC has many programs and initiatives in the Arctic. These relate to ECCC and Government of Canada goals: climate change adaptation and mitigation, conserving and protecting nature and biodiversity, international arctic cooperation, reconciliation and research monitoring and weather prediction. Some examples of ECCC programs in the Arctic and North supporting these goals are:
  • Environmental Emergency planning and response. This is coordinated through the National Environmental Emergencies Centre in Montreal and engages, coordinates and provides guidance to experts and responders within the department as well across other federal, provincial, and territorial agencies.
  • Northern contaminants monitoring and research program in cooperation with CIRNAC.
  • Issuance of disposal at sea permits and participation in environmental assessments, water license regulatory work and Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations, applicable across the North.
  • Weather forecasting, water quantity and quality monitoring.
  • Arctic Ice conditions monitoring and reporting. The Canadian Ice Service’s mission is to provide the most timely and accurate information about ice in Canada’s navigable waters (including the Arctic Ocean, Western Arctic, Eastern Arctic and Hudson Bay) working to promote safe and efficient maritime operations and to help protect Canada’s environment.
  • Extensive collaborative research in areas such as hydrology, freshwater eco-systems, ozone, priority species, biodiversity, climate modelling, wastewater treatment contaminant and biomonitoring, air quality and pollution.

Physical presence

• ECCC has offices and staff in all three territorial capitals as well as other supporting warehouses and facilities in smaller and more remote communities such as Fort Smith, Inuvik and Eureka.
• Approximately 118 employees representing eight different branches are based in the Territories.
• Many other ECCC staff work regularly on Arctic and Northern issues with many travelling north as needed.
• The figures below show the proportion of ECCC staff working in the North, a breakdown by Branch and the number of employees by Branch working in each territory.

Meteorological Service of Canada activities in the Arctic

• The Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) within Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has a strong presence in the Arctic. We monitor weather and ice conditions, use computer models to predict the evolution of those conditions, and provide services that support Canadians and Canada’s sovereignty.
• The MSC operates a wide array of meteorological and hydrological networks to monitor and collect weather, water, climate data from the ground and above from satellites, including across the Arctic.
• Data and information from these networks underpin the MSC’s ability to provide accurate and timely weather forecasts and warnings to allow Canadians to make informed decisions on a daily basis.
• The MSC observation assets in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut include 81 automated weather stations, 11 upper air balloon launch stations, 10 lightning detection sites, 1 satellite receiving station, 2 moored marine buoys, and 43 active drifting buoys north of 65° (no geographical delineation). Further, the MSC has equipped a number of ships operating in the Arctic with weather observing equipment that provide valuable weather observations data from the Arctic waters.

Weather forecasting activities in the Arctic

• ECCC’s MSC provides specialized weather forecasts and information to the Canadian Armed Forces on an ongoing basis, both domestically (including the Arctic), and internationally, through a formal service agreement. This includes aviation weather support, predictions of ice conditions, specialized product generation for military applications and, when required, the generation of trajectory predictions for substances of concern.
• ECCC also supports the Department of National Defence and its operations at Canadian Forces Station Alert on northern Ellesmere Island, and provides meteorological information to support missions of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships when they are in the Arctic.
• ECCC provides daily weather forecasts for communities across the North as well as aviation weather forecasts on behalf of NAV CANADA for Arctic airports.
• ECCC provides specialized, meteorological decision support services to emergency management authorities to help them manage weather related risks.
• ECCC provides daily marine weather forecasts for the navigable waters of Canadian territory, and fulfils Canada’s international obligation by providing marine weather and ice information for a broad swath of international waters north of 60⁰—an area that includes all Arctic waters from north of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska to the North Pole.
• ECCC monitors and charts sea ice conditions in support of marine navigation broadly, and in support of the Canadian Coast Guard’s ice breaking program in particular. ECCC places Ice Service Specialists aboard Coast Guard vessels to provide expert advice for navigation in ice-infested waters.
• ECCC is continuing to develop modelling systems that are adapted to the North, and has taken a leading role in international efforts to advance the science behind improved weather and environmental prediction services for the polar regions.
• In the context of environmental emergency response, MSC supports the provision of products and services related to nuclear events, volcanic ash, smoke, as well as chemical, biological, and radiological releases. Specifically, MSC provides 24/7 response for atmospheric transport and dispersion modelling of pollutants to support the National Environmental Emergency Centre during emergencies. MSC also operates the Volcanic Ashes Advisory Centre of Montreal whose responsibility includes all of Canada, including the Canadian Arctic.

Water and climate conditions in the Arctic

• The Canadian Arctic is particularly affected by climate change for areas of the Arctic Ocean are experiencing longer and more widespread sea-ice-free conditions. ECCC’s MSC has specialized capabilities and expertise in areas such as ice detection and modelling. This capability is important not only for Arctic decision-making but also for the global improvement of weather and climate modelling.
• In 2018, in response to the rapidly changing Arctic conditions, the Arctic Regional Climate Centre (ArcRCC) was established under the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). ArcRCC is an Arctic-region-specific centre of excellence that assists WMO Members in providing better climate services and products, including seasonal forecasts, to meet national climate information needs.
• Canada’s specialized expertise in monitoring sea ice and icebergs can be found in the MSC’s Canadian Ice Service (CIS), which provides operational support for maritime activities seven days a week to ensure safe ice operations. The MSC provides direct support to Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy operations. Support activities include regular ice and weather briefings, on-board services, ship routing, the provision of ice information based on the ship’s ice class, and customized search and rescue charts and bulletins. The CIS also updates Ice Climatology for Arctic Sea ice every ten years, which facilitates an understanding of how ice conditions are changing and allows CIS to articulate annual ice conditions relative to long term trends.
• Canada’s world-class modelling and prediction capabilities include Canadian innovations in coupling ice information with atmospheric and ocean conditions in order to better understand the way the atmosphere and the oceans interact. Computer modellers in ECCC were the first in the world to implement fully coupled real time interactions between atmospheric and ocean conditions, which enable predictions of phenomenon occurring on the ocean surfaces such as ice formation and movement, wave conditions and storm surge, as well as the ability to provide specialized prediction products beyond Canadian borders. In situ and space-based observations are critical inputs into weather and climate models that run on a high performance computing platform.

ECCC’s use of satellite technology

• ECCC relies heavily on satellite technology and data from the orbiting RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) for operational near-real time monitoring of sea ice, marine winds and marine oil spill pollution. These satellites are expected to exceed their design life and be in service beyond 2026. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has initiated a process to ensure continuity of this data with the next generation of RADARSAT satellites. ECCC also operates satellite ground stations that receive and process data from polar orbiting international weather satellites.
• Satellites provide important data to strengthen weather and climate monitoring in the North where in situ observations can be challenging. Currently, weather forecasting north of ~55° relies on data from polar-orbiting meteorological satellites operated by foreign partners, including the USA and the European Union. To ensure continued access to critical satellite data from new polar orbiting satellites, ECCC will install new satellite-data-receiving infrastructure in Alberta, Newfoundland, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut in the next three years.
• While existing polar-orbiting satellites provide essential data used for monitoring weather in the North, these satellites must orbit Earth multiple times to image the entire Canadian Arctic. To address the resulting spatial and temporal gaps in Arctic satellite data, ECCC, in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and U.S. collaborators (NASA and NOAA), is undertaking a feasibility study for a novel satellite mission concept known as the Arctic Observing Mission (AOM).
• AOM, if approved and implemented, would enable ECCC to provide enhanced and more timely regional and local meteorological data and forecasts and would provide increased monitoring over the Arctic to address key priorities in support of climate change monitoring and adaptation, transportation, safety and security in the North.
• The proposed space weather component of the mission is of particular interest to ECCC, NRCan, and our U.S. partners (NASA and NOAA). The space weather component will collect data to monitor solar particles and their interaction with Earth’s uppermost atmosphere. It would provide important information to support space weather forecasting, as unpredictable solar activity can damage (and even destroy) satellites, cause power blackouts, and cut communication networks on the ground.

Background info on water and climate conditions in the Arctic

Background

• Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) conducts a range of research and monitoring in Canada’s North. Multiple monitoring and research sites generate important information to help us understand the unique and changing nature of water and climate conditions in the Artic. Water research and monitoring generates the scientific knowledge needed to sustain Canada’s northern water resources and freshwater ecosystems. ECCC also conducts leading edge monitoring and research in the Arctic to improve our understanding of the earth-atmosphere system, global transport of pollutants and their interactions with the oceans, ice and biosphere in the Artic.

Climate conditions in the Arctic

• Annual mean surface temperature across Northern Canada has increased at roughly three times the global average rate (Zhang et al., 2019). Climate model projections show this pattern of amplified northern warming will continue into future decades (Lee et al., 2021).
• Sea ice cover has diminished across Canada’s Arctic due to climate change. Both seasonal first-year ice (thin) and multi-year ice (thick) have declined in areas across the Canadian Arctic during the summer melt season at a rate of 5% per decade to 20% per decade since 1968 (depending on region) (updated from Derksen et al., 2019).
• Reduced sea ice enables greater access to Arctic seas for fisheries, shipping, tourism, and resource extraction. Between 2013 and 2019, ship traffic entering the Arctic grew by 25% and the total distance travelled increased by 75% (Constable et al., 2022). The distance travelled by ships through the Canadian Arctic has increased threefold since 1990 (Dawson et al., 2018).
• The combination of climate change driven sea ice loss and increased shipping activity creates a dangerous combination in the Canadian Arctic because ice continues to drift southward into shipping lanes during the summer posing a risk to ship traffic (Laliberté et al., 2016; Howell and Brady, 2019; Howell et al., 2022).
• In the decades ahead, continued reductions in summer sea ice area in the Canadian Arctic due to climate change are expected (Mudryk et al., 2021) resulting in further increases in maritime navigability across the Canadian Arctic (Pizzolato et al., 2016; Dawson et al., 2018; Constable et al., 2022). Because Canadian Arctic communities are reliant on marine transportation for the import of food, fuel and other goods, this could improve resupply access. However, remnant summer sea ice hazardous to ships operating in the Canadian Arctic will continue to remain a threat to safe shipping even when the central Arctic Ocean is practically sea ice free (Mudryk et al., 2021).
• Over land, observed changes in permafrost, snow, and freshwater ice have negatively impacted permanent infrastructure, semi-permanent trails, and seasonal ice roads that connect Canadian Arctic communities and support local activities including access to traditional food harvesting areas.
• These disruptions negatively impact food and water security, and harm the livelihoods and cultural identity of Indigenous populations. Other negative impacts of changing snow, ice, and permafrost include increased risk of food- and waterborne diseases, malnutrition, injury, and mental health challenges especially among Indigenous peoples (Meredith et al., 2019; Constable et al., 2022).

Water conditions in the Arctic

Freshwater Availability

• Climate change and human development are threatening northern freshwater ecosystems (lakes, rivers, associated wetlands) in part because climate warming is occurring much more rapidly in the North and is associated with increases in precipitation, longer ice free seasons, and changing seasonality of runoff timing and volume.
• Recent assessments revealed that changes in freshwater availability associated with warming temperatures has created a shift in the seasonal timing of freshwater supplies leading to higher winter streamflows while smaller mountain snowpacks have produced lower summer streamflows.
• Continued warming and associated reductions in snow cover, shrinking mountain glaciers, and accelerated permafrost thaw, are expected to continue to drive changes in the seasonality of streamflow.
• To advance our understanding of the ecosystem impacts of climate change, ECCC is undertaking science activities focused on changes in watershed material transfer (e.g., nutrient and contaminant loads), water availability and freshwater biodiversity. ECCC science has also developed a pan-Canadian vulnerability index of water resources, including in the North, to inform climate change adaptation strategies.

Additional information

• Meteorological research and development is improving weather and environmental prediction for Canada and Canada’s Northern Territories. The goal of these improvements is to reduce the impact of weather and related hazards on the public and the economy. The research is the scientific foundation on which the operational weather and environmental prediction programs at ECCC are built.
• In collaboration with DFO, DND and the French Mercator Institute, ECCC conducts research and development in coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave-ice forecasting system. This supports Canada’s roles and responsibilities under the International Maritime Organization in the Arctic Ocean (METAREA) for meteorological and navigational monitoring and warning system.
• ECCC is involved in the interdepartmental CONCEPTS (The Canadian Operational Network of Coupled Environmental PredicTion Systems) initiative with DFO, DND, CCG, NRC and CSA to collaborate on the research, development and implementation of the operational coupled atmosphere-ocean-ice-assimilation and prediction systems in Canada. This work improves the uptake of marine environmental predictions by departments such as CCG and DND to positively impact their operations with improved planning and asset tasking during oil spills; for transport safety and efficient navigation, for platform/infrastructure evacuation ahead of severe events, for search and rescue; for ice management, for marine infrastructure design, and for support of marine environmental assessments.
• In response to needs articulated by the Canadian Ice Service, Science and Technology Branch’s Meteorological Research Division developed an innovative ensemble coupled forecasting system. This system has been operational since 2019, and provides sea ice cover and ocean surface current forecasts up to 32 days in the future to address a major gap in knowledge of environmental conditions necessary for ship planning and security.
• As part of the Year of Polar Prediction (2017-2019), a Coupled Arctic Prediction System was put in place (for the duration of the project) to provide highly accurate forecasts of surface conditions across the Arctic. The forecasts were used to support a variety of international scientific missions and Arctic operations. In particular, the Department of National Defense greatly appreciated the products and has requested the system be reinstated.
• To support environmental emergency response, as well as search and rescue efforts in the Arctic, improvements to the Regional Ice Ocean Prediction System (RIOPS) were implemented in 2019 and 2021. The system provides more accurate surface currents, as well as improved estimates of sea ice and ocean drift. The Canadian Hydrographic Service transforms RIOPS output into dynamic navigational charts in the new S-100 E-navigation standards that are produced in real time by MSC.

Current climate research status in the north

Northern Research Stations

• ECCC’s Northern presence is supported by the foundational weather and atmospheric research and monitoring activities conducted at numerous sites as well as the following key high arctic research stations:

Alert, NU

• The Dr. Neil Trivett World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) Observatory at Alert is one of three official GAW greenhouse gas inter-comparison sites and is the most northern permanently inhabited research station in the world.
• ECCC (in partnership with DND who operates the Canadian Forces Station at Alert) operates this sentinel site to characterize the impact of northern hemisphere human activities on the Arctic atmosphere and ecosystem.
• ECCC, with domestic and international partners, measures greenhouse gases (GHGs), aerosols (including black carbon), stratospheric and ground-level ozone, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), mercury, and Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) priority chemicals at this site (over 50 parameters are collected for the 13 research programs at the observatory).
• STB (with support from CFSB, PSPC, and DND) is currently retrofitting the Observatory to address significant building deficiencies thereby ensuring a safe and efficient science facility to support current and future Arctic research programs at Alert.

Resolute Bay, NU

• Resolute Bay is one of Canada's northernmost communities and is second only to Grise Fiord on Ellesmere Island (Alert and Eureka are more northerly but are not considered towns). It is also one of the coldest inhabited places in the world.
• Measurements of stratospheric (upper atmosphere) ozone have been conducted at Resolute Bay (site maintained by MSC & CSFB) since 1966 making the Canadian record associated with this site the longest in the world. Measurements of surface concentrations of certain air pollutants (i.e., ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, and fine particulate matter) have been initiated at this site to help assess the impact of air pollutant emissions from ships on the Canadian Arctic.
• STB’s Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate (ASTD) played a lead scientific role in a major field campaign based out of Resolute Bay in 2014, in cooperation with NETCARE (Network for the Characterization of Aerosols in Remote Environments) under the Climate Change and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) program of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). This work has improved understanding of aerosol formation in the Arctic, and feeds into improved representation of aerosol processes in climate models.

Eureka, NU (PEARL)

• ECCC (MSC & CSFB) maintains a research facility at Eureka known as the Polar Environment Atmosphere Research Laboratory (PEARL) Ridge Laboratory. While ECCC owns and maintains the PEARL facility, research at the site is mainly conducted by a consortium known as the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change (CANDAC). This consortium, which is made up primarily of atmospheric researchers, garners its own funding to conduct research at PEARL.
• The Eureka Weather Station is a base for ASTD research and monitoring activities. More recently was the April 2022 CRD sea ice campaign conducted from this base.

Iqaluit, NU

• Iqaluit is the major urban center in the Arctic region. It provides health support and manages the major airport serving all the east part of the Arctic. ECCC (MSC and ASTD working together) sustains a supersite aimed at providing key weather information for users such as marine and aviation, testing new developments in meteorological sensors of relevance for Arctic weather, and providing ground truth for satellite data validation. This is currently the best meteorological site in the Arctic that provides key measurements to further understanding the processes governing weather systems in the region.
• Ambient air quality measurements are also conducted in Iqaluit. This air quality monitoring capacity was supplemented in 2014 to support collaborative efforts with Health Canada to characterize the impact of the dump fire on the air quality in the Iqaluit community.

Cambridge Bay, NU

• ASTD conducts measurements of GHGs and POPs at the Cambridge Bay Upper Air Station (MSC), with plans to initiate mercury monitoring. These measurements are in part funded by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada’s Northern Contaminants Program (NCP).
• Cambridge Bay is also home to the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) where there are a number of collaborative research initiatives being carried out that ASTD partakes in.

Current water research status

Long-Term Water Quality Monitoring

ECCC maintains a long-term freshwater quality monitoring network across the three territories in accordance with our mandate of ensuring a clean, safe and sustainable environment for present and future generations. This work provides baseline status and trends in northern rivers, and assesses ecosystem health and the impacts of human activities and climate change on northern river systems. ECCC monitors water quality at 55 sites collaboratively through partnerships with the Government of Yukon, Water Survey of Canada (WSC), Parks Canada (PCA) and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC). The network samplers are comprised of First Nations, community based lay samplers, Territorial governments, PCA and ECCC staff, and data has been collected at some stations since 1960.

Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network

• ECCC leads a collaborative Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network, known as CABIN, to monitor the biological organisms that live on the bottoms of streams and rivers to share data and report on aquatic ecosystem health. The network is comprised of all levels of governments, Indigenous Groups and governments, community-based volunteers and industry. Network participants have collected more than 2000 CABIN samples in the north, with the earliest samples collected in 1987. In 2019, ECCC initiated engagement activities with Indigenous communities in northern Quebec and in the Northwest Territories through training, information sessions and an engagement forum.

Contaminants Research

• Current activities focus on understanding spatiotemporal trends of microplastics as well as organic and metal contaminants (for example, perfluoroalkyl substances, polychlorinated biphenyls, and mercury) in a variety of species, including Landlocked Char, Beluga Whales, and Ringed Seal. Core questions addressed include:
• How are concentrations of legacy and new contaminants changing over time; Are trends similar across the Canadian Arctic; What are the impacts of environmental perturbations (climate change, changing ice, permafrost and snow, as well as other changes in the environment such as marine traffic and industrial activity) on contaminant trends?
• The department works in partnership with other government departments, as well as Indigenous organizations and communities. For example, samples of tissue and seawater are collected as part of an agreement with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) under the Northern Contaminants Program. Further, sampling in support of these research activities are performed by local harvesters and communities, coordinated by Hunters and Trappers groups as well as the Nunatsiavut government, and with other community partners of note in Northwest Territories and the Yukon.

Science support for environmental emergencies

• Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) exercises legal authority for environmental emergencies under a series of legislation (e.g., Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Fisheries Act, Emergency Management Act). These legal authorities are national in scope, and include Arctic regions.
• These legal authorities enable ECCC to execute Federal Emergency Response Plan Emergency Support Function #6 (Environment) which “includes the provision of environmental information and advice in response to emergencies related to polluting incidents, wildlife disease events or severe weather and other significant hydro-meteorological events” across Canada.
• The Science and Technology Branch maintains operational science and response capacity to provide support to environmental emergencies anywhere in Canada. Science and Technology Branch activities that have an Arctic or Northern component include but are not limited to the following:
  • Maintenance of an oil spill database describing how oil behaves under various environmental conditions. This includes cold weather/Arctic conditions and inclusion of low-sulphur fuel oils used in these environments.
  • Maintenance of spill modelling capacity for Canadian territories, including Arctic environments.
  • Maintenance of in-house expertise on shoreline assessment, response countermeasures, environmental sample analysis and clean-up for Canadian territories, including in Arctic environments.
  • Development of in-house expertise on oil-in-ice interactions and strengthening of bi-national (US-Canada) collaboration on the topic.
  • Participation on multi-national Arctic Council research projects (example: Low-sulphur Fuel Oil research project).

References

Dawson, J., L. Pizzolato, S.E.L. Howell, L. Copland and M.E. Johnston (2018), Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Ship Traffic in the Canadian Arctic from 1990 to 2015, Arctic, 71(1), 15-26, doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic4698.

Derksen, C., Burgess, D., Duguay, C., Howell, S., Mudryk, L., Smith, S., Thackeray, C. and Kirchmeier-Young, M. (2019): Changes in snow, ice, and permafrost across Canada; Chapter 5 in Canada’s Changing Climate Report, (ed.) E. Bush and D.S. Lemmen; Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, p. 194-260.

Constable, A.J., S. Harper, J. Dawson, K. Holsman, T. Mustonen, D. Piepenburg, B. Rost, S. Bokhorst, J. Boike, A. Cunsolo, C. Derksen, P. Feodoroff, J.D. Ford, S.E.L. Howell, A.C. Katny, J.P. MacDonald, A.O. Pedersen, and others (2022), Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Cross-Chapter Paper 6: Polar Regions, Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Environment Program. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/

Howell, S. E. L., & Brady, M. (2019). The dynamic response of sea ice to warming in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Geophysical Research Letters, 46, 13119– 13125. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085116.

Howell, S.E.L., D.G Babb, J. Landy, and M. Brady (2022), Multi-Year Sea Ice Conditions in the Northwest Passage: 1968-2020, Atmosphere-Ocean, https://10.1080/07055900.2022.2136061

Laliberté, F., Howell, S. E. L., & Kushner, P. J. (2016). Regional variability of a projected sea ice‐free Arctic during the summer months. Geophysical Research Letters, 43, 256–263. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066855

Lee, J.-Y., J. Marotzke, G. Bala, L. Cao, S. Corti, J.P. Dunne, F. Engelbrecht, E. Fischer, J.C. Fyfe, C. Jones, A. Maycock, J. Mutemi, O. Ndiaye, S. Panickal, and T. Zhou, 2021: Future Global Climate: Scenario-Based Projections and Near-Term Information. In Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 553–672, doi: 10.1017/9781009157896.006.

Meredith, M., M. Sommerkorn, S. Cassotta, C. Derksen, A. Ekaykin, A. Hollowed, G. Kofinas, A. Mackintosh, J. Melbourne-Thomas, M.M.C. Muelbert, G. Ottersen, H. Pritchard, and E.A.G. Schuur, 2019: Polar Regions. In: IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, M. Tignor, E. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Nicolai, A. Okem, J. Petzold, B. Rama, N.M. Weyer (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 203-320. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157964.005.

Mudryk, L., J.P. Dawson, S.E.L. Howell, C. Derksen, T. Zagon, and M. Brady (2021), Impact of 1°, 2°, and 4°C of global warming on ship navigation in the Canadian Arctic. Nature Climate Change,11, 673–679, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01087-6.

Pizzolato, L., S. E. L. Howell, J. Dawson, F. Laliberté, and L. Copland (2016), The influence of declining sea ice on shipping activity in the Canadian Arctic, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, doi:10.1002/2016GL071489.

Zhang, X., Flato, G., Kirchmeier-Young, M., Vincent, L., Wan, H., Wang, X., Rong, R., Fyfe, J., Li, G., Kharin, V.V. (2019): Changes in Temperature and Precipitation Across Canada; Chapter 4 in Bush, E. and Lemmen, D.S. (Eds.) Canada’s Changing Climate Report. Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, pp 112-193.

Minutes of the proceedings

Evidence – PACP (44-1) – No. 50 – House of Commons of Canada