Canadian Polar Commission needs new mandate, Arctic expert warns

Canada's lead agency on polar research needs to start fresh with a new mandate, more funding and more staff, says an independent Arctic expert.

The Canadian Polar Commission, a federal agency set up in 1991 to monitor and promote science in Canada's Arctic, has been operating without a board of directors since October because the federal government has yet to appoint people to the board.

That delay may be a sign of broader problems at the commission, such as an unclear mandate, said Terry Fenge, an independent consultant on Arctic affairs.

"I'd be prepared to go so far as to suggest that the status quo with the Canadian Polar Commission is untenable and unacceptable," Fenge told CBC News on Thursday.

The commission's current mandate is to monitor polar knowledge in Canada and around the world, promote and support Canadian polar research, and convey information from polar research to Canadians.

Fenge said the polar commission should have been heavily involved in International Polar Year research efforts over the past two years, instead of playing the marginal role it did.

"We have either got to abandon and disband the commission, or preferably use it to full advantage," he said.

"Now, if we are to use it to full advantage this means that it needs to be re-energized, [with a] new mandate, new funding and new personnel. And that should be done quite quickly."

Appointments to the Canadian Polar Commission's 12-person board must be made as orders-in-council from the offices of the prime minister and the Privy Council, executive director Steven Bigras said.

Bigras said current events such as the economic recession and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's move to prorogue Parliament in December may have been factors in the delay.

"More and more now, people ... want them to participate in their conferences, and they have issues that they'd like addressed. And yes, they're asking, you know, what's happening?" he said.

Fenge said the commission should be more like a central co-ordinating agency that works to ensure Arctic science plays a part in shaping Canada's Arctic and foreign policies.