Quebec's Chantier Davie Shipyard setting up an Arctic icebreaking research centre

#Quebec; #ChantierDavieShipyard; #Icebreaking; #ArcticRegion 

​Quebec, Aug 4 (Canadian-Media): The Chantier Davie Shipyard in Quebec describes itself as Canada's polar partner and plans to announce Aug 4 the creation of a national centre focusing on icebreaking in the country's Arctic, media reports said.

The Chantier Davie Shipyard. Image credit: Facebook Page

The company will not be just an engineering centre, but aims to encompass the climatic, economic and social factors to be the driving forces for the region for the next 30 years and beyond, said a senior executive at the Levis, Que.

"It is a bigger discussion," said Spencer Fraser, the director of business development for the Inosea Group of Companies, which owns the shipyard. "It's not just around icebreaking and shipbuilding in Canada."

Community and business leaders, as well as scientists and engineers,  from both northern and southern Canada would be brought together by the Arctic icebreaking centre in a conference later this year to discuss the kinds of ships and infrastructure required to drive future economic and social development in Canada's Arctic which is being altered by climate change and shifting geopolitics.

"We're getting together to ask: In 2050, the North is going to look like this, what do we want the economy to look like? And what do we need to do today to get the wheels in motion so we can achieve that?" Fraser told CBC News.

A federal contract worth up to $827 million was given to Chantier Davie to convert three existing commercial icebreakers for use by the Canadian Coast Guard.

The shipbuilding industry has also been tasked by the federal government to build a case for the construction of heavy icebreakers in the Far North.