POLAR XPRESS – August 10, 2020

FROM THE TOP

Read the latest POLAR Blog

How community-driven research is solving a problem with thawing permafrost in Kugluktuk
Thawing permafrost is damaging a trail that Inuit from the community of Kugluktuk, at Nunavut’s western edge, use to reach a hunting, fishing, and berry-picking area that is one of their sources of food. POLAR’s Stéphanie Coulombe is part of a research project, led by the community and the Government of Nunavut (Nunavut Parks and Special Places), that is taking aim at the problem. Climate change is part of the reason – temperatures in the Canadian Arctic are rising rapidly – but there’s more to the story. Read more here.

Statistics Canada online questionnaire

Many questions have been raised about the impacts of the current pandemic on our society, yet data on its impacts on people who experience discrimination is limited. In order to address this need for information, Statistics Canada is reaching out to make people aware of this initiative and to encourage participation.

The information will be used by government organizations such as the Public Health Agency of Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada, and other types of organizations to evaluate the delivery of health and social services, and economic support during and after the pandemic.

The online questionnaire is accessible until August 17, 2020.

For more information on this data collection, please visit www.statcan.gc.ca/COVID-series-e.

POLAR’S PEOPLE

POLAR employee receives Human Resources Council award

On July 23, 2020, the Human Resources Council announced the recipients of the 2019 Michelle C. Comeau HR Leadership Awards. These awards, in memory of Michelle C. Comeau, formerly Associate Deputy Minister, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, recognize leadership and excellence in human resources management in the federal public service. These awards present an opportunity to highlight excellence in human resources and showcase the work that has been undertaken in an organization to support outstanding people management.

Congratulations to POLAR’s very own Marianne Leclair for receiving the 2019 Michelle C. Comeau HR Leadership Award – Human Resource Profesional category. Marianne was selected for her innovation, creativity, commitment and perseverance in supporting the advancement of the people management agenda and playing a key role in raising the profile of the HR community.

Linking co-monitoring to co-management

POLAR’s wildlife researcher and veterinarian Matilde Tomaselli has co-authored a new paper, published on July 15 in the Canadian academic journal Arctic Science. The paper is entitled “Linking co-monitoring to co-management: Bringing together local, traditional, and scientific knowledge in a wildlife status assessment framework”.

Assessing the status of a wildlife population – its numbers, trends, breeding success and the threats it faces over time – is fundamental to its conservation and management. Indigenous knowledge and science working together can provide a more complete understanding of a population’s conservation status, and can bridge gaps in scientific monitoring in remote and sparsely populated areas. In this paper Matilde and her colleagues propose a practical “traffic light” approach to make more effective use of multiple knowledge sources for wildlife conservation status assessment. Learn more about this publication here: https://doi.org/10.1139/AS-2019-0019

Graphical abstract in Peacock S, Mavrot F, Tomaselli M, et al. Arctic Science 2020. DOI 10.1139/AS-2019-0019 (graphic by S Peacock)

Cambridge Bay photo featured in CBC North

Cambridge Bay employee Sheldeen Emingak’s photograph of a picturesque beach in Nunavut has been featured in CBC’s Your North: Best reader photo for the week of July 6. Take a look at the stunning shot!

LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE

Circumpolar films

These two films have been hand-picked by the POLAR Communications team to bring interesting knowledge about the regions and its people. Happy viewing!

Imiqutailaq – Path of the Arctic Tern
Follow the journey of two students as they make their way from one end of the earth to the other. This documentary created by Students on Ice in 2009 features Terry Noah and Jason Qaapiq from Grise Fiord, Nunavut, Canada’s northernmost Arctic community. Watch now!

Iqaluktuuq – A Place of Many Fish
Join Jennie Knopp in her 50-kilometre journey across Nunavut to Iqaluktuuq, a traditional fishing site. Knopp joined a dozen youth and elders by aluminum motorboats and motorized freighter canoes to reach the destination. The purpose of this five-day trip was for the elders to pass on their extensive knowledge to the youth about Arctic char – the fish that sustained local Inuit for millennia. Read more of Jennie’s travel here and watch now!

Inuinnaqtun/Inuktitut word of the week

The Inuinnaqtun/Inuktitut word of the week kigutangirnaq. It means: blueberry

It is pronounced: kee-goo-tung-eer-nuq

Listen to the pronunciations here:

Are you ready to Talk the Talk?

UPDATES

Key outcomes from Senior Management Committee

Here are the key outcomes and decisions from the August 10, 2020, Senior Management Committee discussions:

• Restructuring of Programs sectors is progressing and will ensure successful implementation of our Strategic Plan and better support S&T Framework activities moving forward.
• Return to workplace plans remain on track as scheduled. Further information continues to be shared with employees to support a safe and smooth transition back to the office.

Summary: Return to work update from the President
The health and safety of its employees remains POLAR’s priority during the return to the workplace. A return to the workplace of all Cambridge Bay employees is scheduled for Monday, August 17, and a partial return to the workplace for Ottawa employees is planned for mid-September. Due to the physical distancing rules put in place, a rotating employee schedule will be in effect for the Ottawa office.

You will receive an email from your manager indicating the date of your return, as well as the meeting time and location to respect physical distancing measures.

For all those returning to the workplace, please remember to do the following:

• Complete a personal self-assessment at home every day – do you feel ill? Are you showing symptoms? If you are showing symptoms, contact your manager but remain at home.
• Use proper hygiene – wash your hands often, use hand sanitizer, avoid touching your face.
• Physical distancing – keep a distance of approximately two meters from others. Follow floor markers, parking restrictions, and respect restricted access to common areas.
• Sanitize high-touch surfaces frequently, and at the beginning and end of each shift.

You will each be provided a daily-use non-medical mask (NMM), recommended to be worn in the office only when physical distancing is not possible.

POLAR Events Calendar

You will find below the latest version of the POLAR events calendar for your information.

All travel is currently postponed until further notice.

Please send any calendar updates or additions to Tehjae Tsukada at tehjae.tsukada@polar-polaire.gc.ca

POLAR events calendar: August 7 , 2020

WORKPLACE NOTICES

POLAR’s Instagram campaign launch

The Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP) social media campaign officially launched on August 4! The first phase of this campaign will feature 50 photographs taken by students of the NSTP on POLAR’s Instagram channel over the coming months. The NSTP has been a pillar of northern research in Canada since the government established it in 1961. Administered by POLAR since 2015, the program supports universities in providing scientific training that gives students professional experience in the Canadian North and encourages them to develop a commitment to northern work. Every year it provides supplementary funding to over 350 students from over 35 universities and northern colleges across Canada.

Since 2014 students who have received NSTP funding have been submitting photographs of their work in the field. Head over to POLAR’s Instagram to follow along!

Photos like this one of sea ice in Hudson Bay, taken by NSTP recipient Madison Harasyn, are featured on POLAR’s Instagram site.