It’s time for a Canada-Russia Arctic partnership
Should Canada formally join forces with Russia to pursue our mutual national interests? In my view that makes a lot of sense. After all, Canada and Russia have a lot in common and Russia could bring much value added. We share a similar geography in the northern parts of our countries. Russia extends from 30 […]
North needs all-weather road through Mackenzie Valley to Tuktoyaktuk on Arctic coast
YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T.—The history of Canada could be written as a tale of epic adventure, and the people of the Northwest Territories are ready to craft its newest chapters. We believe our part of this rich story can contribute to the solution of many of the challenges facing Canada today. From the exercise of Canada’s sovereignty […]
Harper plans to make ‘northern vision’ a reality
One can’t talk about the North’s future without recalling prime minister John Diefenbaker’s vision of “a Canada of the North.” It helped rocket the Prairie populist to the greatest Parliamentary triumph in Canadian history. Today, technology, shrinking distances, and climate change are creating new challenges and possibilities in the Arctic, and Stephen Harper will, he […]
AIP to transfer control to N.W.T. over lands, resources great, but needs aboriginal governments in northern political future
When one takes an objective view of natural resource development in the Northwest Territories, the southern media have the story wrong. The important development is not the wrangling over secrecy between the Harper government and the Joint Review Panel on a natural gas pipeline that is years away, nor is it the discovery of oil […]
New reality in Arctic: need to rethink approach
Because the Bloc Québécois recognizes how important the North and the Arctic are, it is worried about the military approach and the mid‑ and long‑term directions the Conservative government has adopted since coming to power in 2006. Accelerating climate change and melting polar ice caps have led circumpolar countries to cast covetous glances at the […]
We need to increase our visible presence using the Coast Guard, and Canadian Forces
The Great Canadian North is a land of opportunity, where opportunities present themselves in many faces. Whether it is the great people who inhabit the region, the natural resources which can be found at the bottom of the sea or under the soil, its unique natural habitat or its pristine waterways, there are many reasons […]
Climate change in Canada’s North should not be exploited by feds
Climate change in Canada’s North should not be exploited by this government as just some opportune excuse to buy new military equipment; it will fundamentally change communities and ecosystems, and it is raising issues of Arctic sovereignty. To be sure, the Prime Minister has focused the government’s attention on Canada’s Northern sovereignty in an unprecedented […]
Harper should fulfill Arctic equipment purchases sooner than later, say critics
Prime Minister Stephen Harper stands upon an ice floe with the chief of the defence staff of the Canadian Forces by his side. Metres away, hooked on to another ice floe, black-clad military divers sit on a Zodiac watching as an Airbus 320 refuelling tanker thunders above, flanked by two CF-18s. A Canadian Coast Guard […]
Arctic leaders call for bigger investments in communities, job creation
Security and sovereignty in Canada’s North should be protected not just through patrol ships and boots on the ground, but through empowering people by investing in infrastructure in communities and job creation, say Arctic leaders. “The first and highest priority of our northern strategy is the protection of our Arctic sovereignty,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper […]
Observers split on reality of $16.2-billion Mackenzie Valley pipeline project
Observers and actors involved in the Mackenzie Valley pipeline project are split about whether the $16.2-billion scheme is a pipedream that market conditions won’t support or a plan that has all the support and potential to create jobs and allow cash to flow North. Since large natural gas deposits were first discovered in the Beaufort […]
