Statement made on 17 May 2012 by Senator Claudette Tardif
Hon. Claudette Tardif (Deputy Leader of the Opposition):
Honourable senators, the Arctic Institute of North America's Kluane Lake Research Station, which just celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, will likely be forced to close its doors soon due to federal budget cuts. This station, operated mainly by scientists from universities in Alberta and British Columbia, is one of many whose operations are being threatened in the Arctic.
In response to federal budget cuts, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council has ended a funding program that helped this facility and other research facilities across Canada. The Kluane Lake Research Station was renovated just last year after receiving a $2.5 million investment from the federal government's Arctic Research Infrastructure Fund, but now scientists working there cannot afford to keep it operational.
Why would the government invest in infrastructure in the Arctic without a plan for keeping these important facilities operational?
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