Question Period Note: The Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory

The Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory

• Environment and Climate Change Canada supports monitoring of and research on air quality, the ozone layer, and climate change, in the Arctic.

• The Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (also known as the PEARL Ridge Laboratory) is a permanent research station in Eureka, Nunavut, used by atmospheric scientists to monitor the state of the Arctic atmosphere.

• The Government of Canada recognizes the value of the innovative research and information produced at the PEARL Ridge Laboratory and has made important investments in the PEARL research network.

• Environment and Climate Change Canada has maintained the PEARL Ridge Laboratory for over 25 years and will continue to make it available to researchers conducting leading-edge climate and atmospheric research.

• The Government of Canada is investing $87.2 million over five years to operate and maintain the PEARL Ridge Laboratory, the weather station, and other assets in Eureka, Nunavut.

• The Government of Canada continues to invest in climate change science and atmospheric research to meet the current and future needs of the country’s scientists, scholars, and students.

o The Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL – also known as the Ridge Laboratory) is primarily used by academic researchers from universities to advance atmospheric and climate science studies in the Arctic. Academic researchers secure funding for their own work that is carried out at the Laboratory.

o The Ridge Laboratory is operated in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada’s weather station in Eureka, which provides some accommodation and logistical support. The Ridge Laboratory is located approximately 15 kilometers away from the main Eureka complex.

o Environment and Climate Change Canada owns and funds the operating and maintenance costs of the Ridge Laboratory building, as well as the roadway leading from the Eureka Weather Station to the laboratory. Two installations located near the Ridge Laboratory known as 0PAL (Zero-altitude PEARL Auxiliary Laboratory) and SAFIRE (Surface and Aerosol Flux Extension Site), are owned and maintained by the University of Toronto. Together, these buildings comprise the PEARL complex.

o In 2013, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Climate Change and Atmospheric Research grant program provided $35 million in research funding to seven environmental projects, over a five year period (ending on March 31, 2018). This included a university-led research project at the PEARL Ridge Laboratory, which was awarded $1M/year over five years. Environment and Climate Change Canada committed to funding the operating costs of the Ridge Laboratory for the length of the project, from February 1, 2013 to January 31, 2018.

o On November 8, 2017, the Government of Canada announced up to $1.6 million in funding to support research in Canada’s high Arctic. This funding allows Canadian university scientists to continue research operations and data collection at the Ridge Laboratory, until fall 2019.

o Environment and Climate Change Canada will continue to make the Ridge Laboratory available to researchers funded through competitive peer-reviewed processes after September 2019, and researchers are welcome to use it.

o The Government of Canada’s investment in Budget 2019 will help to ensure the infrastructure integrity of key assets in Eureka, Nunavut, such as the Ridge Laboratory. This funding will help maintain Eureka as a key hub for weather operations and atmospheric research and monitoring in the Canadian Arctic.

o The Government of Canada has invested over $10 billion in science, research and the people who power it - and climate science has seen significant contributions through Discovery Grants, Canada Research Chairs, and other funding sources. Scientists interested in conducting research in the Arctic can apply and get federal support through several federal programs.

Question Period notes as provided by the Department to the Minister’s Office