Asserting Arctic sovereignty called Canada’s ‘most urgent and important task’
Ottawa announces billions in spending as part of update to federal government’s defence policy
Asserting Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic and Northern regions is “the most urgent and important task we face,” the federal government said Monday as it unveiled major updates in the country’s defence policy.
“As Arctic waters become increasingly navigable due to the disproportionate impacts of climate change, Canada will be exposed to new vulnerabilities in the North, which is also NATO’s Northern and Western flank,” according to a federal government news release issued after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Bill Blair announced defence policy updates.
Those updates total $8.1 billion over the next five years and $73 billion over the next 20 years. They were announced in an update to the Liberal government’s defence policy, titled Our North, Strong and Free.
The government said the new policy will give the Canadian Armed Forces the tools and capacity to defend Canada and help protect North America.
“With today’s announcement, we’re strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces with transformative investments in equipment, capabilities, and talent,” Trudeau said in the news release.
“As we tackle the evolving challenges ahead, including protecting and defending the Arctic, these investments will keep Canada safe, secure, and prosperous.”
The Arctic and Northern-focused commitments over the next 20 years include $1.4 billion for specialized maritime sensors and $218 million for northern operational support hubs, consisting of airstrips, logistics facilities and equipment stockpiles.
Additionally, the government committed to constructing a new satellite ground station in the Arctic, and acquiring tactical helicopters and vehicles adapted to ice, snow and tundra.
The report also said Canadian Armed Forces is prioritizing collaboration and consultation with Indigenous partners and Northern communities and “will rely on Indigenous expertise, experience and talent across the region.”
Collab and consult with Inuit on what? Most Inuit don’t even know that the northern territories are Natos northern and western flank. All we know is the land and animals. We don’t have any experience in armed combat. Us Inuit ran away from conflict. Which is why we live in one of the harshest environments. We do not believe in nation versus nation. We believe in helping people when it comes to fish and meat.
Your ancestors were not pacifists. They were a well armed and battled hardened people that used Lamellar armour and Mongolian bows when they entered what we now call the Canadian Arctic & Greenland. They did not run from the inhabitants they found here, but conquered them and took their land.
I hope this comment was made in jest!?!?
Inuit absolutely need to be consulted and part of the decision making on WHAT and WHERE all this new infrastructure will be do and be located. Do you want a helicopter pad and stockpile warehouse in the middle of Turku calving grounds? If these underwater listening posts emit any kind of sound or frequency that disturb marine mammals, do you want a say in that? If the government wants to have a huge military exercise next to your cabin, do you want to be consulted? What’s an acceptable number of new buildings in your communities that draw on the already limited resources?
I sure hope the government does it’s duty and consults with Inuit.
I want to see this half turkey half caribou
Tell me you don’t know Inuit history without telling me you don’t know Inuit history. You may want to research who our ancestors killed off.
Of course they need to consult with Inuit. They need to know where the wildlife spend time through out the year so they don’t accidentally blow them up or anything like that. They need to know where people go hunting and camping so no one is accidentally killed with a stray bullet.
You need to start doing proper research before commenting. I see alot of your comments are out to lunch
Not thinking telling the whole world what they want to do, should be secret.
Our most urgent and important task is to vote out the federal Liberal Party and the federal ND Party. The people in those organizations are ruining our country and society
I made it through residential Skool ‘n stuff. Can I call myself a “Real Canadian”?
Imagine if they used that money to actually help built the community infrastructures.
The GN is supposed to take care of that. When it was NWT they were building houses and not apartments. My god so many misinformed people.
What about the High Exiles? they sacrificed, died, illnesses, loneliness all for the sake of Ottawa, what about them, compensation is no good, acknowledgement and thank you for the bottom of the Hill is need time and time again. Do Canadian schools even know who the High Exiles are? If it wasn’t for the sacrificial Inuit, top of Lancaster Sound could have been USA, Danish, or even Chinese….. or worst; Soviet Union. God help us from Putin…..
A meaningful way for the government to recognize the sacrifices and hardships endured by those relocated to the High Arctic would be to commit to comprehensive development and establishment in Nunavut and the broader northern regions.
These individuals were utilized as markers of sovereignty, yet subsequent investments in essential infrastructure to solidify Canada’s Arctic claims have been insufficient.
To genuinely affirm our presence in this region and safeguard the navigable passages of the Northern Route, it’s crucial to elevate our infrastructure to the standards seen in the south.
This includes paved runways, constructing deep-sea ports, enhancing power generation, and fostering industry, trade, and military presence in every community. Countries such as the United States, Russia, and nations in Scandinavia have already taken such steps.
It’s time Canada honors the legacy of those exiled by fully developing the territories it sought to claim through their relocation.
Come to think about it. Where are your MLAs putting the money for nunavuts infrastructure? I’ll give you a big hint. It’s used for GN allowance. They just added 600 bucks more for themselves monthly.
A DEW Distant Early Warning line would a possible advantage up here LOL. The billions upon billions unaccounted for in our NATO friends missing books and still they ask for more, and we play along LOL. The Federal response still originates in the Lower 48 – we do not determine foreign policy Washington the capital does that for us. That is a lost cause but only much worst than only the fattening up of the US based war machine.