Synopsis of research conducted under the 2013-2014 Northern Contaminants Program

Foreword

This report provides a summary of the progress to date of research and monitoring studies pertaining to contaminants from long-range sources in northern Canada, and related communications, outreach, capacity-building and policy activities that were conducted in 2013-2014 under the auspices of the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP).

The NCP mandate is to work to reduce and, wherever possible, eliminate contaminants in traditionally harvested foods, while providing information that assists informed decision making by individuals and communities in their food use. The projects reported herein cover the broad range of topics that contribute to understanding and addressing northern contaminants issues, as outlined in the NCP strategic plans (e.g., Blueprints), including dietary contaminant exposure, effects of contaminants on the health of people and ecosystems, contaminant levels and trends in the Arctic environment and wildlife and the influence of climate change, and community-based monitoring and research.

These projects were subject to a comprehensive technical, peer and northern social/cultural review process, involving external peer reviewers, technical review teams, regional contaminants committees and the NCP Management Committee. This review process ensures that each project supports the priorities and objectives of the Northern Contaminants Program, as outlined in the NCP blueprints and the annual call for proposals. All peer reviewers, review teams and regional contaminants committees use evaluation criteria to review and rate 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, as a condition of approval for funding.

Preliminary results of projects funded in the 2013-2014 year are presented here. Submission of a report for this publication ensures program transparency, allows for timely sharing of results, and is a mandatory deliverable for all recipients of NCP project funding. These reports and any future peer- reviewed publications related to these studies will be available through the NCP Publications Database housed at the Arctic Science and Technology Information System (ASTIS) hosted by the Arctic Institute of North America (AINA) at www.aina.ucalgary.ca/ncp. Other project deliverables include submission of data/ data sets/ metadata to the Polar Data Catalogue at www.polardata.ca.

Introduction

The Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) engages Northerners and scientists in researching and monitoring of long-range contaminants in the Canadian Arctic, that is, contaminants that are transported to the Arctic through atmospheric and oceanic processes from other parts of the world and which remain in the Arctic environment and build up in the food chain. The data generated by the NCP is used to assess ecosystem and human health, and the findings of these assessments are used to address the safety and security of traditional country foods that are important to the health and traditional lifestyles of Northerners and northern communities. The findings also inform policy, resulting in action to eliminate contaminants from long-range sources.

The NCP contributes scientific data and expertise to contaminants-related international initiatives such as the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), and to international agreements such as the UNEP Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and two protocols under the United Nation Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, working globally to improve the health of Arctic people and wildlife over the long term.

The NCP is directed by a management committee that is chaired by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), and consists of representatives from four federal departments (Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Health and CIRNAC), five territorial, provincial and regional governments (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut), four northern Aboriginal organizations (Council of Yukon First Nations, Dene Nation, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Inuit Circumpolar Council), five regional contaminants committees, and Canada’s only Arctic-focused Network of Centres of Excellence (ArcticNet).

The management committee is responsible for establishing NCP policy and science priorities and for making final decisions on the allocation of funds. Regional contaminants committees established in Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut support this national committee. Funding for the NCP’s $4.1 million annual budget comes from CIRNAC and Health Canada.

Details about the management structures and review processes used to effectively implement the NCP, and the protocol to be used to publicly disseminate health and harvest information generated by the NCP can be found in the NCP Operational Management Guide (available upon request from the NCP Secretariat).

Highlights of 2013-2014

This report provides a summary of the progress to date of research and activities funded by the Northern Contaminants Program in 2013-2014. It is a compilation of reports submitted by project teams, emphasizing the results of research and related activities that took place during the 2013-2014 fiscal year. The report is divided into chapters that reflect the broad scope of the NCP: Human Health; Environmental Monitoring and Research; Community Based Monitoring and Knowledge Integration; and Communication, Capacity, and Outreach.

Some of the program’s highlights for 2013-2014 included:

• the signing of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in October 2013, for which NCP data, information and expertise played a critical role for Canada and the Arctic Council to take a leadership role towards taking actions to control global sources of atmospheric mercury emissions;
• the release of the Canadian Arctic Contaminants Assessment Report III (CACAR III) report on Persistent Organic Pollutants in Canada’s North, the first assessment report to focus exclusively on persistent organic pollutants in the Canadian Arctic;
• the 20th anniversary NCP Results Workshop, held in Ottawa in September 2013, which attracted some 200 participants to mark this special anniversary for Canada’s longest standing northern monitoring and research program; and
• significant contributions by NCP scientists and the NCP Secretariat to the circumpolar Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) Working Group, as co-authors and co-chairs of scientific expert groups working on updates to circumpolar assessment reports, and as Canada’s Head of Delegation and Vice-Chair to AMAP, during Canada’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council (2013-2015).