Many rural regions do not have a sufficient labour force providing the skills that rural businesses need. Many job vacancies go unfilled or are filled by less than ideal candidates. This research looks at strategies to attract and retain the workers that Ontario rural communities need to generate economic development and vitality. By engaging local […]

Massive drifting icebergs frequently threaten offshore operations on the Grand Banks because of their massive size, and great mechanical strength. These ice hazards move erratically, which complicates efforts to modify their trajectory or undertake evasive action. This MITACS project aims to further improve security of offshore workers and help protect wildlife and the environment by […]

In the Okanagan Basin region of British Columbia, urbanization, agriculture, and land-use change have contributed to extensive wetland loss. Currently, an estimated 1% of historic wetlands remain in the Okanagan which support numerous fauna and flora not found elsewhere in this arid region. However, a single comprehensive inventory of wetlands has not been undertaken in […]

British Columbia’s (BC) resident killer whales are listed under the Species At Risk Act as ‘threatened’ and ‘endangered’ for the northern and southern residents, respectively. Contaminants have been recognized as one of the main threats affecting the survival and recovery of these populations. This project will look at the levels of contaminants of concern in […]

The beluga population living in the St. Lawrence Estuary (Quebec) is endangered, and exposure to organic contaminants (i.e., polychlorinated biphenyls, short-chain chlorinated paraffins and polybrominated diphenyl ethers) may be one of the reasons that explain their steady decline. Recent studies using skin/blubber biopsies of St. Lawrence belugas showed that several of these organohalogens may perturb […]

Global climate change represents a grand challenge for society, and the risk for Canada’s ski tourism economy is no exception. Climate change impacts on ski tourism’s profitability will have far-reaching consequences for sport, employment, culture, real estate, and community economic development in Canada’s tourism-dependent rural and mountain communities, yet there is currently no analysis on […]

The proposed research seeks to understand how marginal winter conditions have impacted Ontario snowmobile trails in the past in order to make inferences about the future. The project will combine historic climate data (1989-2019), operational indicators (trail opening/closing, permit sales), and Regional Climate Model (RCM) outputs for the Province of Ontario to explore the implications […]

Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) is the idea that the practice of protecting lands should be examined on a broad scale and be holistic in nature. Available areas of land with conservation potential should be examined critically for whether they fit into a larger ecological network – either as a link between existing protected areas, or […]

The Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW, Orcinus orca) population is assessed at 73 individuals, and significant threats include high levels of endocrine disrupting contaminants, alongside other anthropogenic threats. Studies have painted a partial picture of the contaminants of concern in the SRKW food web. For example, preliminary studies of chinook salmon suggest that some resident […]

forWater Network researchers at Dalhousie University are working with Halifax Water and Westfor Management Inc. to determine how the Pockwock forested watershed can be managed to improve water treatability. A key issue here is the movement of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). DOC movement from the land to the water has increased in recent decades, and […]

Sustainable investment is an expending sector of the mainstream financial market, yet there are few studies evaluating the trends, opportunities, impacts and knowledge gaps as they relate to Canadian investors. Understanding the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues related to business operations and investment are critical to understanding trends that are driving this shift towards […]

Deep retrofits are a holistic approach to increasing a building’s capacity to be resilient to and adapt to climate events, such as: heat waves, flooding, air pollution, and earthquakes. Deep retrofits also help to lower a building’s energy use and operational and embodied carbon emissions. Operational carbon emissions are the greenhouse gas emissions associated with […]