Stephen Harper should match his soaring Arctic ambitions with investment the region needs

Prime Minister Stephen Harper likes to promote Canada as an “Arctic power” that’s prepared to play a “robust leadership role” at the top of the world. To his credit he has spent much of his time in office pushing northern issues higher up on the national agenda.

So taking the helm of the Arctic Council on Wednesday for a two-year stint offers the Conservative government its first big chance to showcase its ambitions for a region that U.S. President Barack Obama calls “an amazing place.” The Far North is not only strategically significant but also holds huge promise as a global shipping route as climate change thins the ice. It is also a vast storehouse of untapped oil and gas, minerals and even fish stocks. There are many reasons why trading countries such as China, India and Japan are clamouring for a seat at the table.

Canada first chaired the Arctic Council in 1998, soon after it was created to promote circumpolar co-operation and coordination between Canada, the U.S., Russia, Sweden (the current chair), Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.

This time around Ottawa’s agenda will focus on pushing “responsible Arctic resource development, safe Arctic shipping and sustainable circumpolar communities,” says Leona Aglukkaq, the Inuk minister for northern economic development who will chair the council. Setting up a circumpolar business forum to create new opportunities in the region — a “people first” agenda — will be one of her early priorities. On the face of it these are worthwhile initiatives, provided that fragile Arctic ecosystems are adequately protected. Certainly, they are a refreshing change from the Conservatives’ initial fixation on affirming Canadian sovereignty chiefly through flag-waving gunboat diplomacy.

But as the Star’s Paul Watson reports, there’s a disconcerting gap between the Harper government’s soaring Arctic ambitions and its willingness to invest in them. Our prominent role on the council may buoy national pride but it will also bring its share of international scrutiny. Ottawa will need to up its game to avoid being exposed as a would-be Arctic emperor with no clothes.

Baldly put, Canada “badly lags” other polar nations such as the United States and Russia in terms of far northern infrastructure, according to experts at the Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program. Only a fraction of Arctic waters have been mapped to modern standards. Other Arctic nations have significant deepwater ports; we don’t. Our marine and aviation infrastructure is sorely lacking. Our everyday search-and-rescue capacities are limited. So is our ability to respond to a major emergency such as a big oil spill, plane crash or cruise or tanker ship accident.

Northern residents are only too aware of a gnawing basic infrastructure deficit that includes roads, communications, housing, hospitals, water treatment facilities, schools and libraries.

And the Conservatives have been criticized for their $3-billion program to build light Arctic patrol vessels instead of investing in heavier icebreakers, for failing to upgrade Canada’s aging fleet of search-and-rescue aircraft, and for scaling back a planned naval facility at Nanisivik on Baffin Island.

If Canada is banking on what some have called an “Arctic awakening,” we could be doing more to capitalize on it. Canada’s turn at the helm should be an occasion to take stock, and resolve to match our aspirations with investment. As the spotlight turns to us, any mismatch will be there for all the world to see.

Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Editorial