When it comes to food security in the North, Inuit need a seat at the table
No one can survive without food. That is why I was not surprised to learn that Inuit left the federal government’s Indigenous Working Group on food security, nor was I surprised by the comments made by Shylah Elliott, a health policy analyst for Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI), who called the working group “tokenism and optics” […]
Clean electricity crucial for Northwest Territories
In last year’s Hill Times special policy edition on the North, I stated I was eagerly awaiting news on Canada’s National Trade Corridor’s funding to begin to address our infrastructure gap, link our communities, and help bring down the cost of living and the cost of developing our resources and bringing them to market. I […]
ITK president Obed says he and Minister LeBlanc have pledged ‘new course’ on Nutrition North redesign
Months after major Inuit organizations walked out of departmental consultations on revamping the northern food subsidy program, one Inuit leader says he and the new minister for northern affairs have “pledged to set a new course” on the program’s redesign. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) president Natan Obed said he and Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs Minister […]
Canada’s research capacity in the North lags other countries
The changing Arctic is a new frontier of scientific discovery, industrial development, and socio-economic innovation. From China’s plan for a Polar Silk Road to Norway’s Nansen Legacy program on the Barents Sea and adjacent Arctic basin; from Russia’s intense extraction of its Arctic resources to Canada’s reconciliation with its Indigenous people; from the building worldwide […]
Government inaction is a roadblock to building a sustainable economy for Nunavut
“There is no relationship more important to this government than our relationship with Indigenous people.” How often have I heard that said in the House as the prime minister and his cabinet ministers rise to answer questions on Indigenous issues? Nunavummiut can be forgiven for questioning their sincerity. In Nunavut we share a vision that […]
Time to improve outcomes, ensure northern communities’ needs are met
Canada is a proud Arctic nation, and its vast northern region is a defining part of who we are as a country and the role we play on the international stage. It is the homeland to more than 120,000 people, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. As a northerner myself, I know that interdependence, tremendous resilience, and […]
Liberals’ approach to the North is people-driven
Our government’s approach to the North is very much people-driven. Since coming into office in the fall of 2015, the government has made a substantial increase to the Northern Residents Deduction, targeted the Canada Child Benefit to those who need it most, and changed the rules around the Canada Workers Benefit to make it more […]
Canada’s North: Canada’s future
Almost 40 per cent of Canada is north of the 60th parallel. Do Canadians in the South understand northern issues, or the riches of the North, its unique, fragile ecology and centuries of Inuit, Dene, and northern First Nations traditions? The North is Canada’s future. The Senate Special Committee on the Arctic is mandated to assess […]
Arctic Ocean ridge claim about ‘national pride’ as much as potential resources: expert
As Canada prepares its submission on the claim over submarine shelves in the Arctic Ocean, there are questions if there are resources on and below the seabed worth extracting, experts say. Canada’s claim will deal with two ridges, jutting out from Ellesmere Island at Canada’s northernmost point, crossing the Arctic Ocean—the Lomonosov and Alpha-Mendeleev ridges. […]
Canada’s Arctic security efforts can’t only be domestically focused
With climate change, Canada faces a variety of security issues in the Arctic. These include, most seriously, Canada’s obligation to its allies in the event of a conflict with either Russia or China. A confrontation between NATO and Russia could emerge over the Baltic States, the Suwalki Gap in Poland, the Ukraine, Georgia, or Syria. […]
