August 12, 2003 For Immediate Release

Scholars who are interested in northern development around the world are spending the next two weeks engaged in a unique and intensive tour of northern Canadian communities to better understand the challenges and opportunities they face.

The tour includes twenty university faculty and students from various northern countries, including Russia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Lithuania, and the United States. The group will travel the Alaska Highway, visiting mines and communities in the Yukon, before following the Dempster Highway to Inuvik. Proposed oil & gas pipeline developments will be a significant focus. They will finish their trip by flying to Yellowknife and then to Edmonton. Along the way, the visitors will meet with representatives from First Nations, territorial & federal departments, industry, and towns about planning for development in the North and how to avoid boom-and-bust scenarios. There will also be presentations from the faculty and students in the group about their own research.

Tour Schedule
August 10 - Leave Prince George and visit Dawson Creek and Fort St John
August 11 - Fort Nelson and presentation about the Alaska Highway
August 12 - Muncho Lake, Liard Hot Springs, and Watson Lake
August 13 and 14 - Whitehorse
August 15 - Faro and Ross River
August 16 and 17 - Carmacks & Dawson City
August 18 - Dempster Highway to Eagle Plains
August 19 - Fort McPherson
August 20 and 21 - Inuvik
August 22, 23, and 24 - Yellowknife
August 25 - Edmonton

The course is part of the Circumpolar Arctic Social Sciences PhD Network, which meets annually and focuses on issues of particular concern for the North. The trip to northern BC, Yukon, and Northwest Territories has been organized by Dr Heather Myers, a professor in Northern Studies and International Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia. Funding has been provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Nordic Council's Research Academy, and UNBC.

"The whole concept of boom-and-bust is familiar to resource communities in North America, but is less common in Europe," says Dr Myers, who has developed courses on circumpolar issues for UNBC and the University of the Arctic. "With increased attention to issues such as land claims and self-government, oil and gas exploration, and greater territorial political powers, the Canadian North is dealing with issues that are fundamental to long-term economic and political stability."