Canada eyes Arctic Research Centre in Oslo
The Governor General Michaëlle Jean (right) met with Canadian and Norwegian business people to discuss what businesses can do to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. The discussion took place at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo on April 28. Photographer: Sgt Serge Gouin, Rideau Hall / www.gg.ca.
Canada will open an international Arctic research centre in Oslo as part of a new diplomatic effort to defend the country’s interests in the far north, reports the The Canadian Press. The new centre will be staffed by at least five high-level Canadian officials.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon made the announcement Wednesday at a ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in Tromsø. The new centre, which is expected to be staffed by at least five high-level Canadian officials, is being touted as a hub of research excellence by Foreign Affairs.
Russia, Denmark, the United States and Canada are all vying to establish their boundary claims before a United Nations’ deadline in 2013. The research centre is seen as a key component in Ottawa’s strategy to educate Europeans about the challenges of living in the Arctic.
Meeting in Oslo
“I am so pleased to see gathered here today engaged Norwegian business people who are working to find a balance between development and the environment and who are turning to innovative technologies to do so,” said The Governor General of Canada, Michaëlle Jean, when she met with Canadian and Norwegian business people to discuss what businesses can do to mitigate the negative effects of climate change.
The Canadian Governor said: “Canada and Norway are both home to some of the rare regions of the world where nature has preserved its splendour and rights. It is a natural heritage of inestimable beauty and richness”. She also emphasized that “with heritage comes a responsibility: that of developing it without exhausting it”. In her speech she also mentioned that Norway is a “leader in reducing the effects of climate change”.
