For immediate release   |  Thursday, July 4, 2013

WHITEHORSE – The Yukon Research Centre (YRC) is leading the Yukon in climate change hazards planning. Three more Yukon communities have partnered with the YRC to study the effects of climate change on their future planning and development.

The Ross River Dena Council, the Town of Faro, the City of Dawson and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in are partnering with the Northern Climate ExChange at the Yukon Research Centre, the Yukon Geological Survey and the universities of Ottawa and Montreal, to undertake a two-year landscape hazards mapping project in their communities.

“Climate change has the potential to impact our infrastructure and our economy and with limited information on landscape hazards, we are very keen to work with the YRC and create a tool for future planning,” said the Honourable Heather Campbell, Mayor, Town of Faro.

WHITEHORSE – Yukon College and Air North, Yukon’s airline, have teamed up to talk about a shared interest in education and employment opportunities for Yukoners.

In celebration of Yukon College’s 50th anniversary year, the College has named Air North as its preferred carrier. In turn, Air North carried Yukon College Report to the Community on all of its flights in the month of June. Together, Air North and Yukon College are demonstrating a commitment to the North, its people, its institutions, and its potential.

Yukon College president, Karen Barnes, stated that, “Air North is an outstanding Yukon company whose commitment to providing Yukoners with travel, employment and business opportunities is second-to-none.”

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has granted the Yukon Research Centre (YRC) its third award in the last two years. Over the next two years, YRC will use this $200,000 grant to focus on building capacity for mine closure and site remediation in the Yukon through the College and Community Innovation Program of NSERC. This program aims to build collaboration between community colleges, researchers and the private sector, while benefiting Canadians.

“Yukon College is expanding northern innovation and research opportunities through collaboration, and our continued success with NSERC funding is a testament to how strong the Yukon Research Centre has become”, said Chris Hawkins, vice-president research, Yukon College.

WHITEHORSE – Demonstrating a culture of excellence, expanding research capacity, creating multiple pathways into programs and credentials, continued collaboration with Yukon First Nations and communities, and creating a comprehensive land use plan, are just some of the goals set for Yukon College by their Board of Governors in a new strategic plan released today.

Dr. Karen Barnes, Yukon College president, will unveil the 2013-16 Strategic Plan at a Yukon Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Old Fire Hall in Whitehorse today.

WHITEHORSE – “Partnering with the Yukon Research Centre opens doors,” says Yukon-based software programmer Peter Coates.

Coates created Race Tracker with the support of a $20,000 grant from Technology Innovation at the Yukon Research Centre (YRC). Race Tracker is custom-built software that tracks race competitors and streamlines much of the organizational activity around race events,

“The financial support is certainly helpful, but more importantly the Research Centre connected me to the Yukon River Quest last year which enabled me to test and refine the software,” said Coates.

More refinements have followed, including an app for mobile devices which transmits a racers location as frequently as every thirty seconds, making the software more attractive to shorter races where lack of cell-phone coverage is not an issue. Coates has plans to launch the software commercially, once again with the support and advice of the YRC.

WHITEHORSE - 2013 marks 10 years since Yukon’s constitution, the Yukon Act, came into force. This landmark Act gave the Government of Yukon direct control over a greater variety of provincial-type programs, responsibilities and powers, including public lands and resource management over water, forestry and mineral resources.

WHITEHORSE - Debbie Janzen, Collyn Lovelace and Lindsay Roberts, final year students in the Bachelor of Social Work program at Yukon College, have each been recognized for their school work.

Janzen won a $5,000 Northern Residence Award from the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies for her research project, Exploring and Assessing Social Isolation among Yukon Seniors.

Lovelace won the $500 top prize in the Progressive Economics Forum’s annual essay contest in the undergraduate category. Her essay Obstacle to a Safe Exit: Domestic Violence & the Whitehorse Housing Crisis explores how the lack of rental options in Whitehorse impacts women fleeing domestic violence.

WHITEHORSE – If you want to secure your seat at Yukon College this fall, be prepared to line up when registration opens on Monday.

The doors of the admissions office will open at 9:00 a.m. and admissions staff said applications are up 18% over this time last year.

“We usually experience a rush for high demand programs when we begin registration,” said Jennifer Moorlag, Yukon College Registrar. “Students coming on Monday should definitely expect a line up.”

Moorlag said the eight programs with the highest demand are Renewable Resource Management, Practical Nursing, Office Administration, Home Care Assistant, Carpentry, Electrical, Pre-Employment Welding, and Culinary Arts. These programs currently have more qualified applicants than seats available.

WHITEHORSE – Bob Watts is a hopeful man. “I have great faith in humankind. I believe that in our core we are noble beings and can act in a noble way.”

Watts is bringing his hopeful message to Whitehorse and Watson Lake next week in a presentation entitled 2013: Time to Right the Relationship – True Reconciliation in Canada.

Engaging Canadians in their history and in the issues that have arisen from it is a major theme of Watts’ life, and his presentation.

“Far too many people in this country have witnessed in silence, and we need people to engage in these issues, of how we treat one another, how we address the legacy of residential schools, and speak out,” said Watts, a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and Fellow at the Harvard Law School.

WHITEHORSE – Natasha Ayoub became the first person awarded a Bachelor of Science in Northern Environmental and Conservation Sciences (ENCS) north of 60 in Canada on Saturday.

The B.Sc. Northern ENCS program is a partnership with University of Alberta. It has been very popular, with over 30 students taking courses over the past three years, many of whom are working full time and using the credits to complete a program or qualify for a Masters program elsewhere.

“This is an excellent program,” said Ayoub. “The small class sizes enable instructors to tailor courses to student interests and needs. The overall focus on northern content, First Nations content and Yukon legislation like the Yukon Environmental and Socioeconomic Assessment Act (YESAA) is vital for professionals working or intending to work in the territory.”