Building high Arctic study station in Nunavut 'logical': researcher

A seniorresearch official in Nunavut haswelcomed news that the territory will be the home ofCanada's world-class high Arctic research station.

Three Nunavut communities made the federal government's shortlist of locations for the facility, Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl announced Friday in Iqaluit.

A $2-million feasibility study will determine whether the station will be based in Cambridge Bay, Pond Inlet or Resolute Bay.

"I think it's extremely good news for Nunavut. But it seems only logical to me, too, that if you're going to build a Canadian high Arctic research institute, it has to be in the high Arctic," Mary Ellen Thomas, senior research officer at the Nunavut Research Institute, said after Friday's announcement.

"I think those are three excellent choices, and I know that they'll have a lot of work now to narrow the scope down to what they want to see in the end."

Strahl said the government consulted with northerners and the international scientific community in developing criteria for the shortlist.

Transport links needed

The facility has to be situated in the high Arctic, near the Northwest Passage, and it has to have good transportation links, Strahl said.

Strahl added that the feasibility report should be ready within a year and a half.

"It's a $2-millionstudy, so obviously that's more in-depth," he said.

"My expectation is that once that comes to cabinet in the next 12 [to] 18 months ... that will give us the information we need to make the decision on where it will be and when we can start building."

Thomas said any one of the three communities would be a good choice.

But Thomas said she is also thrilled with $85 million set aside in the federal budget for improvements to existing northern research infrastructure most of which was built back in the 1970s, she noted.

"Most of it is aging or falling apart, and it's coming to the choice now of either demolish and remove it, or rebuild and repair," she said.

"I'm extremely excited that the government's chosen to rebuild and repair."

Strahl said the investmentswill put Canada on the cutting edge of Arctic research.