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Arctic Corridors and Northern Voices receives Governor General’s Innovation Award

By May 5, 2021No Comments

MEOPAR is extremely proud to share that this week, Arctic Corridors and Northern Voices —led by Dr. Jackie Dawson, Dr. Natalie Carter, Natasha Simonee and Shirley Tagalik—was one of just six recipients of the Governor General’s Innovation Awards for its “innovative integration of traditional Inuit knowledge and western science.”

“On behalf of the MEOPAR NCE, we heartily congratulate Jackie Dawson and her team. This project originated with joint support from Irving Shipbuilding Incorporated and MEOPAR, and is an example of how a national research network can assist Canadian industry to assemble winning teams and promote innovative ideas originating in Canada’s universities,” write MEOPAR’s Scientific Directors Doug Wallace and Ron Pelot. “Jackie’s work addresses the human and environmental issues facing marine shipping in the Canadian Arctic and connects MEOPAR’s three pillars of ocean observation, prediction and response in order to mitigate risk and minimize the impact of industry operations. Well done!”

MEOPAR’s support for this work dates back to 2016, when Dawson received funding from a partnered call with Irving Shipbuilding to explore the impacts of increased shipping traffic in the Canadian Arctic as a result of climate change and develop management strategies for future shipping scenarios. Since then, the project has continued to grow. Its interdisciplinary team of academics, community researchers, students and industry experts has developed a long-term geo-spatial ship track database for Arctic Canada, mapped Inuit-identified culturally significant marine areas and been a leading force in shaping public policy on marine transport in the Arctic.

Arctic Voices and Northern Corridors has also recently been supported by MEOPAR’s Knowledge Mobilization Fund for the translation of the project’s reports into Inuktut.

Want to hear more about this award-winning work? Join us this Friday at 9am PDT/12pm EST for Lessons Learned from Community-Engaged Research and Capacity Enhancement: North-South Collaborations to Support Low-Impact Arctic Shipping Corridors Decision-Making, a webinar featuring ACNV’s Dr. Natalie Carter, Natasha Simonee and Shirley Tagalik. Register now!