NCP Funded Projects (2020-2021)

There are 70 projects funded under the Northern Contaminants Program for the 2020-2021 year, with allocated funding support of roughly $4.6 million. These projects were subject to a comprehensive technical, peer, and northern social/cultural review process. This process ensures that each project supports the priorities and objectives of the Northern Contaminants Program, as outlined in the NCP blueprints and annual call for proposals. Consultation with northern community authorities and/or Indigenous organizations is required for all projects involving field work in the North and/or analyses of samples.

Human Health
Project Title Project Leader(s) Funding Awarded
Hexachlorobenzene Analysis in Old Crow Traditional Foods Brian Laird (University of Waterloo) $96,564
Informing and Supporting Integrated Action on Contaminants, Nutrients and Food Security for Pregnant Women and All Nunavimmiut Mélanie Lemire and Pierre Ayotte (Université Laval) and Chris Furgal (Trent University) $189,980
Selenoneine Protection Against Methylmercury Toxicity: A Potential Benefit of Beluga Maktaaq Consumption for Inuit Health Pierre Ayotte, Mélanie Lemire and Paul De Koninck (Université Laval) $220,892
Investigating Lead Exposures, Risks, and Communication Strategies in the Sahtú Region, NWT Kelly Skinner (University of Waterloo) $98,733
Country Foods for Good Health: Developing a Country Food Database for the Inuvialuit Settlement Region Brian Laird, Kelly Skinner and Sonja Ostertag (University of Waterloo) $197,800

Total Funding Awarded to Human Health projects: $803,969

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Community-Based Monitoring and Research
Project Title Project Leader(s) Funding Awarded
Understanding Fish Mercury Concentrations in Dehcho Lakes Mike Low (Dehcho First Nations) and Heidi Swanson (University of Waterloo) $33,660
Community-Based Monitoring of Arctic Char in Nunatsiavut: Increasing Capacity, Building Knowledge Rodd Laing (Nunatsiavut Government) Derek Muir and Jane Kirk (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $6,140
Contaminants in Traditional Foods of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation Joel Potié (First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun) $29,291
Tłı̨chǫ Aquatic Ecosystem Monitoring Program (TAEMP) Michael Birlea (Tłı̨chǫ Government) $47,370
Expanding Community-Based Monitoring of Contaminants Concentrations in Marine Country Food Used by Mittimatalingmiut: Science and Local Knowledge Assessing the Risks to Human Health in Pond Inlet James Simonee (Community-Based Researcher in Pond Inlet) $6,900
Mobilizing Inuit Knowledge and Land Use Observations to Assess Ecosystem Trends and Processes Affecting Contaminants Lucassie Arragutainaq (Sanikiluaq Hunters & Trappers Association) $39,273
TRTFN Traditional Foods Contaminant Monitoring Program Anna Schmidt (Taku River Tlingit First Nation) $19,228
Nunalinni kamatsianik palastikkinik igitauKattatunik Nunatsiavummi / Community-Based Monitoring of Plastic Pollution in Nunatsiavut Liz Pijogge (Nunatsiavut Government) and Max Liboiron (Memorial University) $32,626
Sources of Methylmercury, Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances, and Polychlorinated Biphenyls to Ringed Seal Food Webs of Lake Melville, Northern Labrador Jane Kirk and Sarah Roberts (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Liz Pijogge (Nunatsiavut Government) $34,410
Contaminants in the Carcross Tagish First Nation Traditional Territory Coralee Johns (Carcross/Tagish First Nation) $45,625
Community-Based Monitoring of Contaminants: Concentration in Marine and Aquatic Country Food in Pangnirtung, Taloyoak, and Qamani’tuaq: Science and Local Knowledge Addressing the Risks to Human Health Maggie Kilabuk (Government of Nunavut), Jimmy Oleekatalik and Carmen Ikuutak (Taloyoak HTO), Vincent L'Hérault (ARCTIConnexion) $69,105
Assessment of Mercury Concentrations and Presence of Microplastics in Sea-Run Arctic Char Harvested by the Community of Resolute Bay (Cornwallis Island, NU) Samantha Burke (University of Guelph), Debbie Iqaluk (Resolute Bay), Derek Muir (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $17,133

Total Funding Awarded to Community-Based Monitoring and Research projects: $363,628

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Environmental Monitoring and Research
Project Title Project Leader(s) Funding Awarded
Northern Contaminants Air Monitoring: Organic Pollutant Measurements Hayley Hung (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $153,497
Air Measurements of Mercury at Alert, Nunavut and Little Fox Lake, Yukon, Mercury in the Air in Nunavut and Yukon Alexandra Steffen (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $122,300
Passive Air Sampling Network for Organic Pollutants and Mercury Hayley Hung and Alexandra Steffen (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $33,883
Temporal Trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Metals in Ringed Seals from the Canadian Arctic Magali Houde, Derek Muir and Steve Ferguson (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $57,020
Temporal and Spatial Trends of Legacy and New Organic and Metal/Elemental Contaminants in Canadian Polar Bears Robert Letcher (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Markus Dyck (Government of Nunavut) $33,480
Assessing Legacy and Emerging Contaminants in Canadian Arctic Air and Water Bodies as an Entry Point into the Arctic Food Chain Liisa M. Jantunen (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $29,100
Temporal Trends of Mercury and Selected Halogenated Organic Compounds in Three Beluga Populations Landed Near Hendrickson Island NT, Sanikiluaq NU and Pangnirtung NU Lisa Loseto, Steven Ferguson and Cortney Watt (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) $62,845
Temporal Trends of Contaminants in Arctic Seabird Eggs Philippe Thomas (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $103,650
Temporal Trends and Spatial Variations of Mercury in Sea-Run Arctic Char and Other Fish from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut Marlene S. Evans (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $13,600
Temporal Trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Mercury in Landlocked Char in the High Arctic Jane Kirk and Derek Muir, (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Günter Köck (Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Studies ÖAW-IGF) $37,115
Spatial and Long-Term Trends in Persistent Organic Contaminants and Metals in Lake Trout and Burbot from the Northwest Territories Marlene S. Evans (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $32,750
Temporal Trend Studies of Trace Metals and Halogenated Organic Contaminants (HOCs), Including New and Emerging Persistent Compounds, in Mackenzie River Burbot, Fort Good Hope, NWT Gary Stern and Paloma Carvalho (University of Manitoba) $14,156
Temporal Trends in Contaminants in Yukon Lake Trout Mary Gamberg (Gamberg Consulting) $55,551
Caribou Contaminant Monitoring Program Mary Gamberg (Gamberg Consulting), Jeremy Brammer (National Wildlife Research Center) $82,690
Community Based Seawater Monitoring for Organic Contaminants and Mercury in the Canadian Arctic Jane Kirk, Amila De Silva, Derek Muir and Amber Gleason (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $33,200
Overwintering Ecotoxicology of Arctic Seabirds and Adaptive Responses to Climate Change Kyle Elliott (McGill University), Kim Fernie (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $40,300
Microplastics Contamination in Sediment, Water, Snow/Ice, Fish and Seals of the Canadian Arctic Patricia Corcoran (University of Western Ontario), Miriam Diamond (University of Toronto) Liisa M. Jantunen (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $106,190
Contaminants in Birds Consumed in Nunavut: Combining Historical Data with New Measurements in the North Baffin Region Pierre Legagneux (Université Laval) $28,025
Occurrence of Plastic Stabilizers in Fish, Seabirds, and Marine Mammals from Nunavut and Northwest Territories Zhe Lu (Université du Québec à Rimouski) Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $31,250
Aerodynamic Characterization of Microplastics for Predicting Long-Range Atmospheric Transport to the Arctic Region and the Assessment of Sampling Methods Mark D. Gordon and Ronald E. Hanson (York University), Liisa M. Jantunen (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $52,899
Retrospective Assessment of Plastic Additives in Eggs from Seabirds Breeding at Prince Leopold Island, Nunavut from 1975 to 2019 Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Zhe Lu (Université du Québec à Rimouski) $45,000
Beluga (Qilalukkaq) Population Health: A Comparative Approach to Define Impacts of Contaminants and Climate Change Using Omics Lisa Loseto (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), Marie Noel and Adam Warner (Ocean Wise) $39,500
Empowering Youth for Research and Monitoring of Plastic Pollution in the Arctic: A Community-Focused Research and Mentorship Initiative in the Kitikmeot Eric Solomon and Anna Posacka (Ocean Wise) $172,179
Assessing Microplastics and Microfibres in Ringed Seal Stomachs from the Amundsen Gulf Region (ISR), NWT Stephen Insley (Wildlife Conservation Society Canada), Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $16,043
Investigating Microplastics and Associated Chemical Contaminants in Arctic Char and their Coastal and Freshwater Habitats Near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut: A Multi-Year Effort to Understand the Exposure of Multiple Anthropogenic Stressors in a Critical Northern Species Chelsea Rochman and Bonnie Hamilton (University of Toronto), Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $36,111
An Assessment of Plastic Ingestion by Polar Bears Across Nunavut and Northwest Territories Using Hunter-Collected Scat Samples Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Diane Orihel (Queen’s University) $38,100
Microplastics, Perfluorinated Substances (PFASs) and Organophosphate Esters (OPEs) Pathways to the Canadian Arctic Lakes in Yukon and Nunavut via the Snow Deposition Zhe Lu (Université du Québec à Rimouski), Amila De Silva (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $25,365
Assessing Health Effects of Priority Contaminants in Ringed Seals in Northern Labrador: Influence of a Changing Climate Tanya Brown (Fisheries and Oceans Canada); Liz Pijogge and Joey Angnatok (Nunatsiavut Government) $13,400
Microplastic Concentration, Transport, and Fate in Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River to the Southern Beaufort Sea, Northwest Territories Jesse Vermaire (Carleton University), Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $23,403
Seabirds as Indicators of Plastic Pollution Contributing to Pan-Arctic Monitoring of Litter and Microplastics Jennifer Provencher (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Mark Mallory (Acadia University) $22,540
Alert 2022 – Investigating the Impacts of Climate and Sea Ice Change on Contaminants in Arctic Air and Water Alexandra Steffen, Liisa M. Jantunen and Hayley Hung (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $25,500
Developing Tools for Monitoring, and Assessing Impacts of Heavy Metals and Hexachlorobenzene in Sympatric Declining Muskox and Caribou Populations in Nunavut and NWT Susan Kutz (University of Calgary) $30,444

Total Funding Awarded to Environmental Monitoring and Research projects: $1,611,086

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Communications, Capacity and Outreach
Project Title Project Leader(s) Funding Awarded
NWT Regional Contaminants Committee Emma Pike (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada), Tim Heron (Northwest Territories Métis Nation), Kendra Tingmiak (Inuvialuit Regional Corporation) $136,619
Nunavut Environmental Contaminants Committee (NECC) Selma Al-Soweydawi (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada), Jean Allen (Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated) $51,795
Nunavik Nutrition and Health Committee (NNHC): Coordinating, Learning and Communicating on Contaminants Research in Nunavik Kitty Gordon and Marie Rochette (Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services), Lucy Grey (Kativik Regional Government) $125,028
Northern Contaminants Researcher Liz Pijogge (Nunatsiavut Government) $50,454
Coordination, Participation and Communication: Evolving Inuit Research Advisor Responsibilities in Nunatsiavut for the Benefit of Inuit and their Communities Carla Pamak (Nunatsiavut Government) $38,813
An Inuit Research Advisor (IRA) for the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) Kendra Tingmiak (Inuvialuit Regional Corporation) $63,250
Nunavik Inuit Research Advisor: Environmental, Health and Climate Change Research in Nunavik Markusi Qisiiq and Michael Barrett (Kativik Regional Government) $65,375
Research Advisor for Nunavut Tina DeCouto and Jean Allen (Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated) $40,250
Contaminants Workshop at Yellowknife for the Dene Regions Trevor Teed, Roy Jr. Erasmus, and Sam Bullock (Dene Nation) $75,000
Beluga Summit II: Sharing Knowledge About Beluga Whales in the ISR Jen Lam (Joint Secretariat – Inuvialuit Regional Corporation), Lisa Loseto (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) $30,000

Total Funding Awarded to Communications, Capacity and Outreach projects: $676,584

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Program Coordination and Indigenous Partnerships
Project Title Project Leader(s) Funding Awarded
Coordination and Administration of the Northern Contaminants Program Sarah Kalhok Bourque (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada) --
NCP and AMAP Quality Assurance/Quality Control Interlaboratory Study Harold Malle (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $100,000
Data Management Support to the NCP from the Canadian Cryospheric Information Network/Polar Data Catalogue Gregory Vey (University of Waterloo) $39,388
The NCP Publications Database: Making Northern Contaminants Program Publications More Accessible Shannon Christoffersen (Arctic Institute of North America) $40,308
NCP Secretariat: Operational Support and Coordination for the NCP Sarah Kalhok Bourque (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada) $375,000
ArcticNet 2020 Arctic Change International Conference (AC2020) Christine Barnard (Université Laval) $10,000
TOTAL $565,000
Facilitation of International Action Related to the Long-range Transport of Contaminants into the Arctic Sarah Kalhok Bourque (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada) --
Canadian Support for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme Rolf Rødven and Simon Wilson (AMAP Secretariat) $160,000
Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) Network in Support of Global Monitoring Plan (Effective Evaluation) of the Stockholm Convention on POPs Tom Harner (Environment and Climate Change Canada) $12,000
TOTAL $172,000
Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) Participatory Support in the Northern Contaminants Program Merran Smith and Ed Schultz (Council of Yukon First Nations) $37,375
Dene Nation Participation in the Northern Contaminants Program Trevor Teed (Dene Nation) $41,227
Inuit Tapiirit Kanatami (ITK) National Coordination Eric Loring (Inuit Tapiirit Kanatami) $163,300
Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Canada’s Activities Under the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) Eva Kruemmel (Inuit Circumpolar Council) $178,020

Total Funding Awarded to Program Coordination and Indigenous Partnerships projects: $1,157,000

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