Prime Minister Harper’s Visit to Inuit Nunangat

I was happy to read in the National Post this week that Prime Minister Harper will be paying another visit to Inuit Nunangat, and equally happy to read in the article that the Canadian government is asserting Arctic sovereignty through viable northern economies as part of its strategy.

My column in the forthcoming issue of Inuktitut Magazine this fall touches on the subject of Arctic sovereignty in discussing Inuit Nunangat. As Inuit, we see the inescapable reality that we are the bedrock of Canadian Arctic sovereignty, and that our unbroken occupancy and use of the land and waters for thousands of years is the anchor to which Canadian claims are made.

While ice capable Arctic patrol vessels and annual military exercises may provide an opportunity for Canada to wave the flag more frequently and in more places, one has to ask which the more defensible position to stake a claim of this nature is? The one backed by military occupancy and capability, or the one backed by healthy, sustainable, Arctic communities and regions with settled and fully implemented land claims agreements in place?

We believe the answer to that question is obvious and welcome Mr. Harper’s announcement of an initiative that can only further that goal, and we hope that additional policies of this nature play a greater role in our national Arctic sovereignty strategy than do patrol vessels and military exercises.

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