Nuclear or bust: Canadians face uncomfortable choice for new submarines
The Royal Canadian Navy recently began the process for replacing its four Victoria class diesel-electric submarines (SSKs) with a core consideration being increased Arctic capabilities. Purchased secondhand from the United Kingdom, the Victorias are infamous in the Canadian psyche: poorly preserved while awaiting their new Canadian owners, the submarines required major repairs to the hull […]
Canada must get serious about Arctic science
Canada needs to take a larger role in Arctic research. So far, despite all the dire warnings, the campaign promises, and the clear responsibility we hold, our country has failed to step up. With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) underway and a new cabinet minted after a summer of devastating fires, wild weather, and […]
A stronger Arctic Council leads towards a sustainable Arctic
Iceland’s two-year chairmanship of the Arctic Council came to an end at the Reykjavík Ministerial Meeting in May 2021 with the adoption of the Reykjavík Declaration and a first-ever Strategic Plan. Since the creation of the Arctic Council in Ottawa in 1996, declarations of the biannual ministerial meetings have served as the main tool to […]
Arctic shipping critical issue for new ministers
Today, Nov. 1, 2021, is the first full day of the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland. There is a strong delegation of Inuit leaders there, supported by Inuit elders and youth. Our decades old message about climate change is no longer contested. Indeed, the most recent IPCC Report highlighted that climate change is […]
Arctic Council after 25 years: including Inuit knowledge key to the path forward
Inuit across four circumpolar nations—Alaska (United States), Canada, Chukotka (Russia), and Greenland—consider Sept. 19, 1996, a historic milestone in the advancement of our social, political, and economic issues. On that day, the Ottawa Declaration was signed, formally creating the Arctic Council. It is particularly significant for Inuit in Canada as the former Inuit Circumpolar Council […]
Promises, promises, but the GG might actually keep hers
In Beauty and the Beast, there is a scene where the Beast is looking for advice as to how he can win the love of Belle. Lumière, the talking candlestick, helpfully suggests that the Beast make Belle “promises you don’t intend to keep.” As we have entered the season where election promises are made, some […]
Sloan should ditch his party idea
OAKVILLE, ONT.—It seems former Conservative MP Derek Sloan wants to form his own political party—tentatively called “True North”—as a vehicle to promote his ideological values. Essentially, he wants to create a party that’s unabashedly to the right of Canada’s Conservatives. Now, I get why Sloan wants to do this, and I also get why “true […]
Biden-Putin Arctic co-operation gives Canada an opportunity
When the American and Russian presidents met in June for their summit, the Arctic represented a rare point of common ground. Arctic watchers noted U.S. President Joe Biden’s intent that “the Arctic remains a region of cooperation,” and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s equally interesting desire for the Arctic to continue as “a zone of understanding.” […]
ITK’s strategy to combat food insecurity crisis ‘a step along the way to a solution,’ says Obed
The high cost and inadequate supply of food have exposed Inuit people to a complex national public health crisis that needs to be addressed, according to a food security strategy released by the national Inuit organization. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) released the Inuit Nunangat Food Security Strategy (INFSS) on July 12, considered the first of […]
Greenland takes front seat on Arctic Council on behalf of the Kingdom of Denmark
At a historic meeting on June 10, followed by a press conference between the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, and the leaders of the two other parts of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, the Danish PM came with a very clear message. For the first time, a Danish prime minister […]
