ArcticNet’s Fifth Integrated Regional Impact Studies (IRIS)

ArcticNet is pleased to publish its fifth and final Integrated Regional Impact Studies (IRIS) report for the Yukon and Northwest Territories. For over 20 years, ArcticNet has helped develop knowledge and expertise required to document and address Northern change. The IRIS reports are designed to inform evidence-based decision-making and enable effective and socially desirable adaptation strategies. The development of the IRIS reports has fostered connections between Northerners, Inuit and Indigenous experts, provincial, territorial and federal managers and academic researchers in natural, social and health sciences in the Arctic. 

This assessment was funded by ArcticNet, initially a Network of Centres of Excellence of Canada starting in 2003 until 2025. As of 2024, ArcticNet is partially funded by the Strategic Science Fund. This program aims to mobilize the expertise and resources of independent third-party science and research organizations to improve excellence in science, Indigenous-led research, technology, and innovation in Canada. ArcticNet has developed, together with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Polar Knowledge Canada, a new vision to connect and leverage national knowledge assets to better understand and prepare for a changing Arctic. With this new vision, the Network is working to develop a successor to the IRIS that will continue to offer knowledge emanating from ArcticNet-funded research to support policies, programs, and adaptation strategies in the North. 

Over time, ArcticNet research projects have contributed to the publication of five IRIS reports, each corresponding to one of the five major political, physiographic and oceanographic regions of the Canadian Arctic: 1) Western and Central Arctic region (including the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, the Yukon North Slope and Herschel Island, and the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut; 2) the Eastern Arctic region (including the Qikiqtaaluk and Kivalliq regions of Nunavut); 3) the Hudson Bay region; 4) the Eastern Subarctic region (including Nunavik and Nunatsiavut) (see the figure on the right) and 5) the Yukon and Northwest Territories region. Each IRIS is structured to highlight current knowledge regarding the impacts of climate and societal changes and to help policy and decision-makers in formulating strategies that will mitigate the impacts of, and support adaptation to, these changes. 

The IRIS for the Yukon and the Northwest Territories is a compilation of key knowledge (e.g. about human, physical and built environments) that addresses some regional interests and needs (Figure 1). The aim of the IRIS is to facilitate better accessibility of knowledge and to provide relevant, practical and comprehensible information for sound decision-making at a regional scale. This IRIS consists of two parts: a knowledge report, and a synthesis and recommendations article. The knowledge report is divided into seven topic-defined chapters: 1) addictions and mental health, 2) caribou management and food security, 3) mine remediation, 4) permafrost and water quality, 5) permafrost and water hydrology, 6) permafrost-related geohazard on Yukon highways, and 7) impact of climate change on hydrological hazards. Within most of these chapters, scientists and other experts have linked environmental change and regional priorities. The synthesis and recommendations article summarizes the key findings and associated recommendations from the larger knowledge report. The recommendations can serve as a reference guide to help managers and decision-makers develop adaptation plans, strategies, policies and programs for sustainable, safe and healthy communities. 

Synthesis 

• The hunting ban on caribou in the Tlicho region has led to the loss of sharing traditional knowledge and language, food insecurity, and a forced adoption of Western understanding of caribou, contradiction the Tlicho perspective grounded in reciprocity and mutual respect. 

• Due to colonial-induced trauma, many struggle with addiction and poor mental health in the Northwest Territories, however thoughtful initiatives rooted in traditional Indigenous practices are tackling these issues with hopeful goals for a better future. 

• Research with meaningful inclusion from First Nations groups is needed in mine reclamation and remediation especially in Northern environments to support sustainable mining in the Yukon. 

• Permafrost thaw in the Taiga Plains and Taiga Shield has negatively impacted landcover, hydrology and water quality.  

• It is essential to study the ground and environmental conditions to better understand the risks and prevent hazards to minimize the impact of permafrost-related geohazards on infrastructure and people.  

• Unusual hydrological events occurring in the Yukon can help better understand the impact of climate change on the water quality in Yukon river systems, which is largely unknown. 

For the complete knowledge report and the recommendations, read the full report here.

Meet the Editors 

Martin Tremblay – Chief Editor 

Martin Tremblay acts as the Network Manager at ArcticNet. Martin holds a Ph.D. in physical geography from Université Laval where he studied black spruce as an indicator of climate change in the James Bay region. Martin began his career with the Kativik Regional Administration where he worked for 4 years. He has worked on climate change projects, particularly on access to territory and resources in Nunavik. He has worked also the executive secretary of the Kativik Environmental Quality Commission and the coordinator of the rehabilitation of abandoned mining sites. He has then worked for more than 14 years in the federal government in collaboration with several Indigenous organizations related to the North, the environment, climate change and science. He was notably involved in the strategic environmental assessment for the Beaufort Sea, marine conservation files in the Arctic and in several climate change files. Martin is the main editor of ArcticNet’s fifth IRIS report on the Yukon and Northwest Territories. 

Kimberly Fairman – Editor 

As an Inuk scholar living and working in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Kimberly Fairman has been creating space for Indigenous and Inuk specific ways of knowing and doing in research and academia. Her research is focused on Community Engaged practice, Inuit research methods, food security, climate change and Indigenous research methods. Her current contributions are supported by nationally competitive grants, including from Canadian Federal Tri-Council. She has been a Co-Investigator leading the Indigenous engagement component of a Patient Oriented grant in Primary Care Network and she has completed an engagement grant from CIHR in Food Security and Climate Change. As the Executive Director of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, she worked with researchers, Indigenous knowledge holders, clinicians and policy makers in health systems research that impacts on the northern and Indigenous experience, playing an important role by weaving partnerships into the research fabric, engaging with communities and building northern capacity for policy research. She is an Instructor at Nunavut Arctic College on a contract basis and she is the past President of the board of the Canadian Society for Circumpolar Health. 

Pertice Moffitt – Editor 

Pertice Moffitt is a Research Associate at the Aurora Research Institute/Aurora College, with over 38 years of experience in health and social sciences in the Northwest Territories. She holds a PhD from the University of Calgary and has received numerous awards, including a national leadership excellence award from CiCan. Pertice focuses on women’s and Indigenous health, collaborating with northern communities to improve health outcomes. She played a key role in launching the “XÀGOTS’EÈHK’Ǫ̀” Journal, supported by an advisory board of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Elders and Scholars. Her recent research includes a CIHR-funded study on maternal child health and a project on healthcare career support for Indigenous youths. She is an Honorary Professor at UiT in Hammerfest, Norway, mentoring students and faculty internationally. 

Philip Sedore – Editor 

Philip Sedore is a Research Assistant with the Permafrost and Geoscience Research Group at Yukon University. He has four years of experience in academic and government research, specializing in bathymetric and UAV-based geomorphological mapping, submarine and permafrost thaw-related geohazards, and sediment core analysis. Philip holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Dalhousie University, where he focused on submarine geological hazards. His graduate research is published in Marine Geology, and he has contributed to multiple Geological Survey of Canada publications. To date, he has authored or co-authored 15+ publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He moved to Whitehorse, Yukon, in 2023 to pursue new research opportunities and experience life in the North. When he’s not in the field or the lab, he enjoys cycling, climbing, skiing, and hiking. 

Benoit Turcotte – Editor 

Benoit Turcotte was born in Montreal. He studied Civil Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal, Hydrotechnical Engineering at UBC, and River Ice Engineering at Université Laval. He has been working as a researcher since 2013, first at Laval, then at the Yukon University Research Centre. He worked for the Government of Yukon as a flood forecaster for two years in between. His current research focuses on cold region hydrology and river ice processes and involves collaborations with all levels of Governments. His projects emphasize quantifying water-related hazards along Yukon roads, reducing flood risk in communities, developing forecast tools, and improving streamflow estimates during winter. Benoit’s recent chapter presents a research philosophy about the impact of climate change on northern watersheds, reflecting his commitment to understanding hydrological processes in order to support sustainable living in cold region watersheds. 

Stephanie Wright – Editor 

Dr. Wright joined the Department of Civil Engineering as an Assistant Professor in January 2023 with a background in environmental and geological engineering. Before her appointment she was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at Wilfrid Laurier University where she studied the impacts of permafrost thaw on groundwater and surface water integration at the Scotty Creek Research Station in partnership with members of the Dehcho First Nation.  She completed her PhD in Civil Engineering and BSc in Geological Engineering at Queen’s University, Canada. Her expertise is in fractured rock hydrogeology, cold regions hydrogeology, and the environmental/isotope tracers to understand changing environmental systems. The goal of her research is to support safe and sustainable groundwater resources in cold regions under climate change through field-based investigations combined with statistical and numerical analyses. Dr. Wright has been working in the North since 2021 and established several projects with northern and Indigenous partners related to groundwater and permafrost thaw, changing surface water conditions, and community drinking water supplies. Her work aims to improve the ability of governments, industry, and First Nations to effectively respond to a rapidly warming climate. 

Avery Zammit – Editor 

Avery James Zammit, M.A., is the Project Officer for the Industrial Research Chair for Colleges (IRCC) in Northern Mine Remediation (NMR) and Climate Change Research (CCR) at the YukonU Research Centre in Whitehorse, YT. Avery holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from York University and a Master of Arts in Political Science, Sociology and History from the University of Siegen, Germany. These programs included semesters at the University of Helsinki, Finland and the University of Bologna, Italy. As a Project Officer, Avery supports research projects by managing the operations and activities of research teams, organizing field logistics, coordinating meetings, and writing and editing reports for funders, research partners and collaborators.