April 26, 2000 For Immediate Release

The University of Northern British Columbia's capacity to conduct research on significant northern issues has been enhanced by a new federal government program that is enabling universities to increase their levels of research and development. UNBC has been informed that it will be eligible to appoint up to five Canada Research Chairs over the next five years.

The program was announced in the 2000 Federal Budget and has been designed to increase the level of research and development across Canada. For each new researcher, the federal government will contribute between $100,000 and $200,000 annually in financial support. Over the next five years alone, the program could bring up to $2 million for research to northern BC.

"The purpose of the Canada Research Chairs program is to enable Canadian universities to enhance their role as world-class centres of research in areas where they have a comparative advantage," says UNBC President Charles Jago. "For UNBC, this will allow us to dedicate new resources to researching fundamental northern economic, health, environmental, scientific, and social issues. UNBC has begun the process of identifying our research strategy for the federal government; that strategy will determine more precisely the areas of concentration for our new research programs."

The Canada Research Chairs program is a federal initiative to create 2,000 new research positions across Canada over the next five years. The program is helping universities attract and retain the best researchers in the world in an effort to combat the so-called brain drain.