During its discussions the Calgary Working Group (CWG) identified a number of research needs that if undertaken would enhance Canadian foreign policy making for the circumpolar Arctic.

These three regions make up a significant part of the circumpolar Arctic. Several parallels characterize the three regions. These include:

There are of course, important differences; differences of culture, politics, ideology, ecology, technology, economy, and social structure all of which must be factored into a comparative analysis.

A comparative study of the three regions offers important opportunities to explore ways in which experience with regional and sub-regional initiatives in policy making, program development and more generally in the processes of governance, might be linked to Arctic Council roles and responsibilities. Special attention will be given to projects that focus on cross-sectoral and cooperative arrangements amongst interests in the circumpolar Arctic.

Existing relationships linking the Arctic Centre, a research institute at the University of Lapland, the Northern Forum with members across the Arctic, and members of CARC offer a good basis for establishing a collaborative program of the type outlined here. Over the next several weeks we will be exploring specific project interests with these potential partners.

An examination of how modern Aboriginal claims, as social contracts, have entrenched the principles of sustainable development and are therefore a key instrument in the evolution of the practice of sustainable development. The analysis will focus upon local and regional initiatives and the process of "upward guidance' they provide to an expanding repertoire of "on the ground" sustainable development activities. This work will also examine treaty making as a relational exercise in which conflicts are mediated and resolved, and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal interests find accommodations in the wider society.

An analysis of international agreements in the circumpolar Arctic, and outside, but affecting it. The study will identify strengths and limitations along with recommendations for improving such agreements, and suggesting new agreements where none now exist. The analysis will also suggest what roles the Arctic Council might play with respect to international agreements and the issues the agreements are intended to address.

An examination of growth, decay, change, and adaptation in traditional economies across the circumpolar Arctic. Traditional/subsistence activities remain a crucial part of the circumpolar Arctic economies for many residents. At the same time new pressures and opportunities are leading to various adaptive strategies. This analysis would seek to understand the directions in which such economies are evolving, their contribution to sustainable development, and the roles they play in the various arrangements for governance.

Too little is known about the response capability of Arctic ecosystems to various stressors. With rapidly expanding industrial activity in some areas and a toxic legacy now playing out its effects in parts of the circumpolar Arctic, it is essential to develop a much clearer understanding of adaptive capacity, resilience-stability, integrity, and self-organizing capabilities in Arctic ecosystems. Linked to this is the need for a clearer idea of the nature of cumulative effects of human activity and the means to observe, measure, and evaluate such effects.

Science alone will not provide all the necessary observations or insights. It will be essential to document the traditional ecological knowledge that addresses the questions of carrying capacity and restorative capabilities. This work would attempt to provide a framework to guide scientific research and analysis and traditional ecological knowledge documentation and analysis.

With the end of the cold war and the growth of market economies in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the concept of "security" has begun to take on new dimensions. Discussions of security now include economic, environmental, cultural, technological, and scientific conditions along with the traditional military and political perspectives. This redefinition of security from a mostly a military concern to a broad societal perspective on the future will permeate relations among circumpolar neighbours. A study of the changing definition of security and what it may mean in terms of circumpolar institutions and policies is timely.

At the same time membership in NATO is expanding and in doing so creating a new mix of circumpolar interests. This is complicated by the Finnish scenario that envisions a more active role for the European Union in developing its policy towards its Northern Dimension, which in turn could mean its more prominent, some would say more intrusive, profile in Arctic Council.

A study that links the re-definition of security and the effects of NATO expansion on circumpolar relations is timely. Such a study might also include an analysis of the growth of regional and sub-regional organizations and the manner in which they may be affecting circumpolar policy and relations when juxtaposed with institutions taking a more traditional view of security.

For many in the North, circumpolar relations and issues are a distant and mysterious reality. While for some there is longstanding (e.g. wildlife) and newer (e.g. contaminants) recognition of transboundary relationships, few have knowledge of the ways in which the circumpolar countries are formally linked and the mechanisms through which they carry out their affairs. A more knowledgeable public constituency is seen as an asset to circumpolar organizations whether they be political, environmental, cultural, technological or scientific. The proposal here is to write plainly, and in first languages, "a primer" that would describe important features of the circumpolar institutions, economies, ecologies and cultures. As a part of the primer, readers should be able develop an understanding of how to become engaged in, or gain access to, circumpolar organizations.

The purpose of this project is to describe a number of local and regional initiatives that fit with the principles of sustainable development and thus, provide clear examples of the concept in practice. Selection of case studies would be based on a number of criteria including: needs/opportunities being met; approaches to goal setting and strategic planning; resource acquisition and allocation; locus of control; structural-functional analysis; type and scale of activity, criteria for measuring effects/outcomes. Cases would be selected from the various regions of the Circumpolar Arctic to reflect a variety of economic, cultural, environmental and administrative settings. A document of this kind would be an appropriate contribution to the May 1998 conference on Sustainable Development in Whitehorse

A discussion paper on a Northern Science and Technology Strategy prepared by DIAND will circulate for comment in November 1997. It is important that there be a substantial and informed response to this document, for among other things, it will set out the future of the Canadian Polar Commission (CPC). The CWG believes Canada requires a strong body, at arms length from government, to promote sound, policy relevant and basic science, and its wise use by policy makers. The founding principles in the 1991 Act of Parliament that established the Canadian Polar Commission remain relevant, and should form the basis for renewal of the CPC. Examples of areas of scientific study that need particular attention and support include: