An ice-free and navigable Northwest Passage not only opens up the possibility of trade routes but also environmental and cultural destruction in the delicate Arctic ecosystem.
Military muscle Experts stress the importance of answering Arctic sovereignty questions sooner rather than later
The Conservative government’s Canada First Northern Strategy, intended to establish sovereignty
in the Arctic and dramatically increase Canada’s military presence in the North, will include:
Stationing three new armed naval heavy ice breakers in the area of Iqaluit that will
include 500 regular force personnel for crews and support;
Building a new military/civilian deep-water docking facility in the Iqaluit area;
Establishing a new Arctic National Sensor System for northern waters that will include
underwater surveillance technologies;
Building a new Arctic army training centre in the area of Cambridge Bay on the Northwest
Passage staffed by an estimated 100 regular force personnel;
Stationing new fixed-wing search-and-rescue aircraft in Yellowknife;
Providing eastern and western Arctic air surveillance through stationing new long range
uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) squadrons at CFB Goose Bay and CFB Comox;
Revitalizing the Canadian Rangers by recruiting up to 500 additional Rangers, increasing
their level of training, activity, and equipment; and
Providing an army emergency response capability through the new airborne battalion and
airlift capacity stationed at CFB Trenton to provide a rapid emergency response capability
throughout the entire Arctic region.
