POLAR XPRESS – Friday, June 21, 2019

FROM THE TOP
Northern Housing Forum Knowledge Products Now Available Online

A home is more than a structure that keeps the snow off your head and holds your belongings. A home is where you feel comfortable and safe; it provides the foundation of wellness for families and communities. Yet, in many northern communities this is not the reality. The lack of appropriate housing results in stressful and unhealthy living conditions for many residents. In Canada’s North there are many unique and regional-specific challenges influencing housing conditions.

In May 2018, representatives from across Canada and Alaska gathered in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, for the Northern Housing Forum hosted by POLAR. Participants brought a wealth of knowledge covering social, technical, and financial housing-related issues.

The following recommendations were highlighted at the Forum:

  1. Changing the structure and sporadic nature of housing investments;
  2. Implementing an integrated systems-based approach to solving housing coordination by establishing a federal lead on northern housing and regional management boards;
  3. Promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing across the north;
  4. Supporting socio economic research initiatives; and
  5. Supporting indigenous self-determination.

The Forum also generated a series of knowledge products, including six solution fact sheets, a meeting summary report and a policy recommendation report.

The products are now available on POLAR’s website here: https://www.canada.ca/en/polar-knowledge/northern-housing-forum-knowledge-products.html

The 2019 Public Service Employee Survey is Coming Up!

The Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) will be conducted again this year, July 22 to August 30, 2019. Although we’ve just had the results of our own workplace assessment (Workplace Assessment – Part 2) and work is underway on those results, it’s now time to join up with the larger public service family and participate enthusiastically in PSES 2019.

In 2018, 41.3% of POLAR employees responded compared to 57.7% of employees of other Federal departments and agencies. We can and should do better in 2019. Here’s why:

  • How do we compare with other Government of Canada (GoC) organizations?
    • - We’ll be able to compare our results to other similar GoC organizations – where do we rock compared to others?
      • In 2018 we were ahead of micro organizations like us on the question of having opportunities to provide input to decisions that affect our work; a greater percentage of us at POLAR said we felt encouraged to be innovative and to take initiative in our work compared to micros and the public service as a whole.
  • Federal scientists’ questions:
    • - There will be questions to gather the opinions of federal scientists on such matters as collaboration, labs and facilities.

Watch for an invitation email (with a unique link) starting July 22 from: 2019 PSES-SAFF 2019. Be thinking now about what you want to say. Be ready. Run with this opportunity to increase understanding, lean in, find answers and grow POLAR towards greater maturity.

POLAR’S PEOPLE
Polar Explorer Will Steger Visits the CHARS Campus

Will Steger, an expert polar expedition leader and educator, has been trekking across the Arctic and Antarctic for decades and has unique first-hand knowledge of polar environments. He's just completed a solo trek from Saskatchewan to Cambridge Bay by cross country skiing.

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Will Steger 1
Will Steger 2

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While in Cambridge Bay, Will stopped by the CHARS campus and provided an inspirational talk to POLAR staff highlighting his Antarctic trek in 1990, one done by dogsled, in the context of environmental policy and diplomacy.

To raise awareness about climate change, Will also shared insights and observations about the landscape he saw during his last trek and legendary polar expeditions.

For more information, check out Will Steger’s website here:
http://willsteger.com/about-will-steger/

POLAR’s 2019 National Public Service Week

Last week POLAR celebrated the National Public Service Week (NPSW) by organizing a few fun events around the office. POLAR kicked off the week with a Photo Scavenger Hunt on Monday. Check out the photos in our internal photo album here.

This was followed by Tuesday’s “Act of Kindness” activity where employees were encouraged to make a kind gesture to a colleague.

Wednesday was a similar event entitled “Act of Service” where employees were again encouraged to perform a simple task outside of their regular duties to help out a co-worker or team.

Finally, on Thursday, POLAR staff enjoyed a staff lunch shared between both locations via videoconference, allowing everyone to socialize with team members and colleagues while enjoying a delicious meal.

Thanks for everyone’s participation in POLAR’s NPSW activities, as well as for your dedication and hard work over the last year!

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NPSW 1
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LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE
Check out POLAR’s Bird of the Week Column

This week’s column, presented by our colleague Emma Sutherland, is on the stilt sandpiper. This species is a medium-sized shorebird. It can be recognized by its long pointed beak and lengthy yellow legs. During the breeding season, it is distinguishable by a bold barred pattern on its chest and a chestnut-colored patch behind the eye. Its breeding range includes the northern coast of the Yukon Territories and Alaska, northern Ontario and the southern coast of Victoria Island. It undertakes an annual migration, travelling through the interior of the Americas, to winter in the interior of South America, with notable wintering grounds in Bolivia and Brazil. It forages in ponds, freshwater pools and flooded fields, where it rummages for aquatic invertebrates and seeds in the soft mud.

POLAR’s bird ecology team studies the migratory behavior and movement of shorebird species near Cambridge Bay. We sample sites around town to determine the schedule at which various species arrive in the area and begin to nest. Long-distance migratory shorebirds are effective sentinels of global environmental change, as they traverse various ecosystems and are responsive to variations in meteorological conditions and availability of food resources. Over the past two weeks, several Stilt sandpipers have been sighted by Polar staff and visiting researchers around the CHARS campus and at West Arm!

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Indigenous Learning Opportunities

In the spirit of National Indigenous Peoples Day today, here are a few exciting courses provided by the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS). These courses, offered in the National Capital Region and Nunavut are intended for public servants working with Indigenous peoples and communities.

If you are interested in participating in one of these courses, please discuss with your supervisor for approval before proceeding.

Inuinnaqtun/Inuktitut Word of the Week

The Inuinnaqtun/Inuktitut word of the week is uvangalu. This word is the same in both Inuinnaqtun and Inuktitut. It means: “Me Too”. It is pronounced: oo-vung-a-loo

Listen to the pronunciation here.

Are you ready to Talk the Talk?
Talk the Talk - Week 11
WORKPLACE NOTICES
POLAR Information Technology (IT) Equipment/Software Request

In order to assist the Finance and Facilities Management (FFM) team with effectively responding to your information technology (IT) needs, FFM will now compile your requirements on a monthly basis. Such requirements may include software, peripheral (keyboard) or any other IT equipment. ALT will continue to provide desktop support to POLAR employees and can be reached at helpdesk@alt-consulting.ca.

Once approved by your supervisor, please send your requirements by the last Friday of every month to Vanessa Duplan at vanessa.duplan@polar.gc.ca (Ottawa) or Gavin Greenley at gavin.greenley@polar.gc.ca (Cambridge Bay). Vanessa Duplan will be placing the order the following week.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Vanessa or Gavin.

Information Management Tip of the Week

Inserting a file name and path is a simple task that can greatly benefit anyone using your document. Using the filename can help identify different versions of a document, or simply identify the electric filename on a printed copy.

A great reason to use the file path is to ensure everyone working on a similar project knows where the file is located. For example, perhaps your department is working on a project, and you and another co-worker are tasked with modifying a document that relates to other project files. If project files are stored in the same project folder or directory anyone with access to that directory can quickly navigate to all of the associated documents.

  • How to insert name and path in your document using a MAC:
    1. Select Footer from the Header & Footer icon from the Insert tab and choose the edit option toward the bottom of the drop-down menu
    2. Use the Tab key to move the cursor to the desired location within the footer
    3. Select the Field icon from the toolbar
    4. Under Categories select Document Information and under Field Names select File Name
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  1. Click OK
  2. Click the Close icon on the toolbar
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  • How to insert name and path in your document using a PC:
    1. Select the Insert tab
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  1. Click the Footer icon on the toolbar. A drop-down menu will appear
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  1. From the drop-down menu, select a footer style
  2. Return to the Insert tab
  3. Select the Quick Parts icon on the toolbar
  4. Select Field
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  1. Under the Field Names, select File Name
  2. In the Field Properties section, select a format
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  1. Click the Close icon on the toolbar
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UPDATES
POLAR Events Calendar

You will find below the latest version of the POLAR events calendar, including upcoming events and conferences for your information.

Note: The calendar is subject to change. Any travel has to be pre-approved by Directors (and above for international destinations).

Please send any calendar updates or additions to Jerry Kallada at jerry.kallada@polar.gc.ca

POLAR events calendar: June 19, 2019

SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
New POLAR XPRESS Social Media Section

POLAR is continuously growing its social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and promoting POLAR-led or supported events and activities. Check out some of our latest social media posts:

Instagram:

Twitter:

Facebook: