POLAR XPRESS – November 22, 2019

FROM THE TOP

POLAR in the news

Click on the headlines below to read articles about POLAR.

CBC Radio “The Current” – 2019-11-13: Program includes interview with POLAR President and CEO David Scott (segment starts 47:00 mins).

Arctic – InfoNorth – September issue: Canadian High Arctic Research Station and Cambridge Bay: An Interview with Marla Limousin

Nunavut Day

Earlier this month, the Nunavut Legislative Assembly announced that Nunavut Day, July 9, is officially now a statutory holiday across the territory. Previously, the holiday applied only to Government of Nunavut employees. Members of Nunavut’s Legislative Assembly voted to pass Bill 29, an Act to Amend the Labour Standards Act and the Interpretation Act in Respect to Nunavut Day, through third reading in the legislature on Thursday, November 7. Read more here.

The CHARS campus’ Inuit art displayed in Reykjavik, Iceland

EVOQ Architecture, the firm that designed the CHARS campus, hosted an exhibition at the 2019 Arctic Circle Assembly titled ‘Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: Art, architecture and traditional knowledge’ held October 10 through 13 in Reykjavik. This exhibition highlighted both the creation and selection processes for the Inuit artwork at the CHARS campus. As part of a competition, artists from across Inuit Nunangat submitted works illustrating the past and present contributions of Inuit to science and technology, which have subsequently become an integral part of the CHARS campus.

POLAR is currently working with EVOQ to ensure that this exhibition continues to be on display. Read more here.

Right to left: Christopher Manfredi, McGill University; David Scott, Polar Knowledge Canada; Bob Paquin, Canadian International Arctic Centre, Oslo, Global Affairs Canada; David Hik, Simon Fraser University; Alain Fournier, EVOQ 2nd Row: Isabelle Laurier, EVOQ; Emma Arsenault, Policy Analyst, POLAR (Photo Credit: EVOQ)

POLAR’S PEOPLE

Canadian Science Policy Conference

Our very own President and CEO David J. Scott, had the honor of moderating two panels during the 2019 Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC 2019) right here in Ottawa. The first panel, by Ocean Research in Canada Alliance (ORCA), was planned by POLAR’s Knowledge Management and Engagement team for a range of diverse ocean science and technology community members and partners. The Symposium focussed on maximizing the uptake of ocean science in Canadian public policy and decision-making, and learning from creating Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area.

The second panel discussion about the Science Diplomacy in a Changing Arctic, organized by Dr. Urs Obrist, Senior Science and Technology Counsellor, Embassy of Switzerland in Canada, focused on key scientific activities of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States, France and Norway in the Arctic region.

Thank you to the many POLAR employees who contributed to the success of this event!

Behind the scenes of CBC Radio One – The Current

On November 13, 2019, POLAR’s President had the opportunity to speak with Laura Lynch, host of The Current with CBC, about the climate change studies that are ongoing at the CHARS campus.

During the interview, the host also spoke to Michael Angelopoulos from Polarstern, a researcher who studied at McGill University and works on permafrost. He is currently doing the same research on the interactions between sea ice, the ocean and the atmosphere. Finally, Laura spoke to Sunniva Sorby from Svalbard, a citizen scientist who will inhabit the remote historic trapper’s cabin “Bamsebu” in the High Arctic -78°N. in Svalbard, Norway.

The segment begins at 47:00 minutes. Listen now

LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE

Inuinnaqtun/Inuktitut word of the week - taaqtuq - ᑖᖅᑐᖅ

The Inuinnaqtun/Inuktitut word of the week is taaqtuq. It means “It’s dark out”.

It is pronounced: taq-toq

Listen to the pronunciation here.

Antarctica: Life on the Frozen Continent

Journey with Veronika Meduna and Dr. Rebecca Priestley to hear from biologists, researchers and artists, living, working and studying the unique wildlife on the ice in this free, four-week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). This online course features Ian Hogg, Team Lead, Ecosystem Science at Polar Knowledge Canada.

Antarctica: Life on the Frozen Continent is Victoria University of Wellington’s latest course on the prestigious edX MOOC platform, and through lectures filmed on location will give learners an intimate understanding of how humans and animals adapt to life on the coldest, driest, windiest continent on Earth.

Enrol in the course now.

Annual Digital Open Government Forum:

The Canada School of Public Service (CSPC) is hosting the Annual Digital Open Government Forum, focusing this year on digital disruption. Do we need to disrupt to innovate? Hear what senior leaders and experts think, and take part in some of the discussions.

The presentations, interactive sessions and panel discussions will tackle a range of topics regarding the future of digital in government. Our goal is to answer your most pressing questions, such as:

• How can you work successfully in the cloud?
• What competencies do you need to thrive, disrupt and innovate in our digital age?

These and other conversations are just some of what will be occurring at this year’s forum. Join the CSPC to expand your digital knowledge and experience innovation in action!

Other upcoming CSPC events:
2019 is the International Year of Indigenous Languages! The CSPC is holding a panel discussion on the importance of Indigenous Language revitalization in Canada.
November 20 | Ottawa | Webcast

The first event of this series was a real success! Don’t miss the next one on ACCESSibility to the procurement system.
November 27 | Ottawa | Webcast

The Government of Canada has declared zero tolerance for harassment in the workplace. Join us to discuss best practices and eliminate fear of reprisal.
November 28 | Ottawa | Webcast

Are you ready to Talk the Talk?

UPDATES

Polar Knowledge Aqhaliat Report

It’s official, the 2018 Aqhaliat reports, both individual papers and the full report, are now available to download online in both English and French!

Update on the 2019 Aqhaliat Reports:

• There will be 11 papers in the 2019 issue;
• Papers are currently being sent for translation;
• Expected release for 2019 Report is January 2020.

Update on the 2020 Reports:

• This edition will be a new streamlined format of short reports;
• Call for Papers was sent to internal, funded and CHARS users;
• Submissions were due November 15

Key outcomes from Senior Management Committee

Here are the key outcomes and decisions deriving from the November 13 Senior Management Committee meeting:

• SMC received the full agenda for the upcoming Board of Directors meeting. SMC members were reminded of the November 19 deadline to submit all documents. As per the usual process, an all staff meeting will be held after the Board meeting to update staff on its outcomes.
• SMC members provided updates on the progress of work in their respective areas.

POLAR Priorities Updates

The latest Priorities Update document is here. Take a look at the priorities and activities of your colleagues between November 18 to December 13, 2019.

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: November 21, 2019

WORKPLACE NOTICES

Teleconferencing Local Number Reminder

The cost of teleconferencing services in the Government of Canada has substantially increased in the last two fiscal years.

POLAR wants to encourage responsible spending on the taxpayers’ behalf by using local teleconference numbers where possible. Using the toll-free dial-in number for a teleconference costs more than the local dial-in number.

We’d like to remind you to call with the local phone number instead of the toll-free number when you are in the local dialing area. Meeting participants that are not in the local area can continue to use the toll-free number.

If you’ve lost or forgotten your local dial-in number, send an email to the Government Teleconferencing Services at SGTReservations.GTSReservations@ssc-spc.gc.ca, or call 613-941-9554 (National Capital Region) or 1-800-226-6338 (Regions).