Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Whitehorse –When a crew of riggers from Yukon College’s trades program hoists a huge canoe into place in the college cafeteria, its creator will be a satisfied man.

“I was looking for a good home for this canoe,” says Dawson City artist Halin de Repentigny. “I am happy it is going to be safe here at the college.”

The 28-foot birch-bark canoe will placed into position on Nov. 16, hanging in the stairwell of the college’s cafeteria. There, the artisanship will be on display for years to come.

This is no ordinary canoe. De Repentigny says it embodies much of the country’s history and culture. He drew up the canoe from 100-year-old designs by artist, journalist and traveler Tappan Adney, who literally wrote the book on North American canoe building. The frame comes from cedar from Ontario (de Repentigny picked and transported the wood here himself), the skin and its glue from bark from BC and Yukon. It is painted bright colours, in line with the traditions of the voyageurs.

“I wanted to make a statement, that this canoe has the best of the partnership of our founding races- the First Nations, Metis, and Europeans,” he says.

This is also serious work for the people who have to hoist it safely to the ceiling.

“I’d say it was a fairly big job,” says Randy Spinks, the facilities supervisor at Yukon College. “It’s a 28-foot, 400-pound object going across a fairly wide span.”

“It’s so big, we have to bring it through the cafeteria patio doors- it won’t fit down any of the hallways or around any corners.”

The riggers also had to figure the best way to display the canoe, cradling it in such a way as to ensure the intricate and beautiful artwork inside is visible to the public.

“It’s a great opportunity for the students,” Spinks says. “It allows them to do some hands-on work, rather than just learning in the classroom.”

De Repentigny says there are only a handful of canoes like this in the world. He drew on nearly 20 years experience in building canoes to create this work of art. He says it’s difficult to put a price on such a unique work.

But that’s not what’s important for de Repentigny. He wanted to find a good home for his work. After housing it at a local art gallery, he had the notion to donate it to the College when his wife started attending classes here.

“I said I would look good here at the College, it would educate people about Canadian history and culture. These canoes came up to the Yukon, were part of building this country.

“This was meant to stay here.”

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Thursday, November 10, 2011

 Whitehorse – People interested in climate change and climate science in Yukon can now find the last eight years of research on the subject in one easy-to-access document.

The Northern Climate ExChange (NCE) released the “Compendium of Yukon Climate Change Science” this week. It can be found at http://www.taiga.net/nce/mainstreaming/index.html.

The report, produced as part of the Northern Climate ExChange’s mainstreaming program, includes over 175 studies divided into ten general themes. There are studies on everything from fish to forestry, from pollution to the breeding cycles of red squirrels at Kluane Lake. (they’re giving birth an average of 18 days earlier, largely as a result of climate change in the area). (see backgrounder, below)

“The north is already experiencing the impacts of climate change,” says Lia Johnson, the Climate Change Information Analyst for the NCE. “There’s a lot of research being done here at the Yukon Research Centre, and by outside universities and researchers. It’s great to have all the relevant research on the Yukon in one place.

“There are really two audiences for the compendium,” says Johnson. “There’s the full compendium, detailing all of the studies for governments, organizations and researchers to access. Then there’s a summary of 20 of the studies, which give a broad overview of the state of knowledge for Yukon climate change. That’s more for the public.”

The compendium was compiled by Aletta Leitch, a student working at the NCE last summer. The compendium is available in a PDF format, which allows the material to be downloaded onto an individual’s computer. The information is searchable through a standard keyword search.

“It’s a living document,” says Johnson. “We’ve included material right up to the present day, and we’ll continue to add to it as new research is published.”

The Northern Climate ExChange is one of six key programs that operate under the Yukon Research Centre (YRC) at Yukon College.

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Background

Some studies of note included in the compendium:

• It was determined that Yukon glaciers experienced a surface area decrease of 22% in a fifty-year period from 1956-1958 to 2006-2008. This period of melting was accompanied by increasing summer and winter temperatures, as well as decreasing winter precipitation.

• Melt of the Yukon-Alaska glaciers has contributed approximately 9% of the sea-level rise in the past 50 years.

• A modeled annual air temperature increase of 5 degrees Celsius predicted that essentially all of the permafrost would disappear from Wolf Creek and just over 10% would be left at Ruby Range. The stated results are relevant to the long term, and for the short term, results should be considered as only addressing the few metres of permafrost closest to the surface.

• Research revealed an increase in white spruce density on north-facing slopes and treeline advance on south-facing slopes, both related to warm temperatures throughout the 20th century. The difference between slopes is due to the distribution of permafrost.

• During the period 1948-2005, the Yukon experienced an annual average warming of 2.2°C and a winter warming of 4.5°C, the greatest rate of temperature increase in northern Canada.

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Whitehorse –Yukoners will have a chance to meet and hear national and local leaders speak on social justice challenges and change at the Northern Institute of Social Justice’s Inaugural Speaking Event on November 14.

The Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, former Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Phil Fontaine, and Teslin Tlingit Council Chief Peter Johnston will be speaking at the event, to be held at the Yukon Arts Centre, at 7:00 pm.

The theme of the evening is “Making Change- Global, National and Local Pathways to Social Justice”.

“If you are interested in social justice issues, this is an opportunity to hear from others who are also imagining, leading and supporting change in different ways and areas”, said Joanne Lewis, Executive Director of the Northern Institute of Social Justice.

There are many ways to define and address social justice, Lewis says. The Institute’s role is providing training, education and research for jobs with a social justice component. Training and education are tools for working through challenges facing northerners and finding solutions to help move people to equality of opportunity and outcome.

Opened in January 2010, the Institute is a Yukon Government – Yukon College project, funded by the Community Development Trust Fund, through Advanced Education. The Institute was developed and is directed by a Council that includes representatives from Yukon First Nations leadership, Yukon Government and Yukon College.  The Institute works with Yukon College instructors, community organizations, First Nations and the Yukon government.. Programs have included training in corrections, regulatory enforcement, trauma, FASD, loss, grief and healing; and managing response to threat and aggression, to name a few.

“Our training tackles issues of concern to frontline workers and others in governments and non-government organizations. We focus on developing knowledge and skills for living and working with these issues in a Yukon context”, said Lewis.

To date, 712 people have taken training through the Institute since it opened in January 2010. New programs are being developed as needs are identified and future initiatives include a certificate program.

For now, though, the Institute is inviting Yukoners to spend an evening with its guest speakers.

“Making Change – Global, National and Local Pathways to Social Justice” starts at 7:00 p.m. on November 14 at the Yukon Arts Centre. Admission is free. There will be a question-and-answer session after the formal speeches, and a reception afterwards.

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

On behalf of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) and Minister of Health, Ryan Leef Member of Parliament for Yukon and Shelagh Rowles, Acting Vice-President of Education and Training at Yukon College today announced that resource development and exploration companies in Yukon will soon have more skilled local workers to choose from, thanks to two new mining technology programs at Yukon College.

“The Government of Canada recognizes that the mining and mineral exploration sectors are backbone employers and key contributors to economic development in the Territories,” said Mr. Leef. “This capacity building initiative will ensure Northerners have better access to quality jobs and will help industry to meet the increasing demand for skilled workers.”

“By partnering industry needs with educational institutions, we are ensuring that Yukoners have the skills and capacity to participate in and help grow the northern economy,” said Minister Aglukkaq.

“The introduction of these two new programs at Yukon College will open opportunities for Yukoners to become involved in the mining industry in new ways, “said Shelagh Rowles. “This funding will allow the College to develop cutting-edge programs using the latest accredited technology education. We look forward to working with industry to ensure these programs are top-quality and meet the specific needs of northern projects.”

Over the next three years, investments from CanNor and Yukon College will be used for the Yukon College School of Mining and Technology to develop and launch Geosciences Technology and Geo-Hydrological Technology programs. The two-year diploma programs will focus on geology applications in the environmental and exploration fields. The programs will be the first of their kind in the North to specifically target resource industry needs.

The federal investment is made possible through CanNor’s Strategic Investments in Northern Economic Development (SINED) program, which focuses on long-term economic growth, economic diversification and capacity building in all three territories.

SINED is one of several economic development initiatives within CanNor. CanNor is responsible for coordinating and delivering Canada’s economic development across the North, and for related policy development and research.
 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Whitehorse – The opening of the new Yukon Research Centre (YRC)  Laboratory at Yukon College will usher in a new era for research in the territory, says the YRC’s director, Clint Sawicki.

“We’ve built a facility that Yukon scientists, and visiting researchers, have needed for many years,” says Sawicki. “We know the basics of what folks want, and we think we have a good start.”

Officials will cut the ribbon opening the $2.7 million facility on Thursday, October 27 at 3:30 p.m..

The gleaming, two-story building on the Yukon College campus has a Class 2 Biohazard lab facility, space for receiving and securing samples, office space for visiting researchers, and a collections room that Sawicki says may one day be a real treasure for Yukoners as the beginnings of a natural history museum.

The building was developed as a multipurpose lab, flexible enough for researchers doing anything from work on permafrost to wildlife to northern health issues.

“It’s a piece of infrastructure that we never had before,” said Sawicki. “It will allow us to do research we could never have done before and attract researchers that we could not have before.”

Sawicki says researchers first identified the need for a Yukon-based laboratory in 2004, and he’s been working with College and federal officials since to make it a reality.

"The Government of Canada is committed to enhancing Canada’s research presence in the Arctic through Canada’s Economic Action Plan - Arctic Research Infrastructure Fund," said Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon on behalf of the Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.

"This investment of $2.7 million in the newly expanded and modernized Yukon Research Centre Laboratory will provide cost-effective logistical support to researchers and help Northerners in the Yukon to grow and prosper."

The lab can hold up to 15 researchers working on projects. Right now the lab has basic equipment for the modern scientist- fridges, freezers, sinks and ovens. More equipment will be purchased as projects are selected and started at the facility.

“It’s really designed to be as flexible and open as possible right now,” he says. “We’re now talking to researchers, planning out our studies. The first projects should be underway this winter.”

The facility is already being used by Yukon College instructor Dave Mossop and an undergraduate student studying the diet of boreal owls.

It’s been an awesome start, and it’s only going to grow” says Sawicki.

“Now we have to get people excited about the potentials and possibilities of what we have here.”