CARC Applauds Improved Arctic Focus

“We have yet to see the outline of the new strategy, but we are heartened to see that there are at least mentions of giving northerners more control over their destinies, improving living conditions, and protecting the environment,” says Chuck Birchall, Chair of CARC. “The gun-boat diplomacy approach to northern issues did not address the needs and priorities of northerners.”

CARC is also pleased to see the commitment to a northern research centre in the throne speech. As CARC has argued for a number of years, the north is insufficiently understood, a fact which complicates planning for the twin pressures of industrial development and climate change.

CARC is hopeful that the new strategy will draw on the work put forward by the three Territorial Premiers and the consultations that have been held to date, consultations that included northern and southern experts. Documents that the new strategy can draw on include several produced by CARC, including copies of CARC’s journal, Northern Perspectives, which focused on northern strategy issues.

CARC urges the federal government to ensure that the further development of the strategy is carried out in an open and transparent manner, and that it involves northerners, and others with an interest in northern Canada.

Press Release as a Word Doc

For more information, contact:

Chuck Birchall, Chair, Canadian Arctic Resources Committee  
(613) 761-2424