Laurier opens Yellowknife research office

WATERLOO — Wilfrid Laurier University is opening a research office in Yellowknife, N.W.T., to further expand its research into cold regions.

The new office in downtown Yellowknife will be home to year-round researchers, and provide work space to visiting faculty, students and staff. The new base for Laurier’s research activities in the North will also help them build on partnerships with government and local communities.

“It’s a part of our country that is very sensitive to climate change,” said Robert Gordon, Laurier’s vice-president research and acting provost.

The university started a research partnership with the territorial government in 2010 to expand the territory’s capacity in environmental research and monitoring, as well as managing natural resources.

“We see this as the next step in our relationship,” Gordon said.

Laurier’s research priorities in the North include climate change, water, permafrost, forest ecology, northern food security and infrastructure development.

Research on the environment, in particular climate change, is a high priority for Laurier.

“Our researchers are trying to better understand how we can mitigate the impacts of climate change,” Gordon said.

While the North is especially sensitive to the significant changes in climate, research there will also be translated to Ontario and “provide capacity for Canada to be much more globally secure,” he said.

Having a year-round presence in Yellowknife will both support research and build on relationships.

“This office will provide a strong catalyst for us,” Gordon said.

University classes won’t be held at the office, but it will periodically host special events to allow the public to learn about Laurier’s work and serve as a base for community outreach in other parts of the Northwest Territories.

A grand opening will be held for the office on Sept. 25, including a panel discussion on Laurier’s northern research.

Laurier’s Changing Arctic Network research team is using $8.2 million in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Northwest Territories government and Laurier to build state-of-the art research stations across the North.