Canada’s new Arctic defence policy: Is it too little and too late? Rob Huebert in the Edmonton Journal – MLI
May 1, 2024
The government’s much anticipated defence policy update finally acknowledges the growing threats in the Arctic that many have long known and feared.
The Canadian government’s much anticipated defence policy update, spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, finally acknowledges the growing threats in the Far North that many have long known and feared.
“The most urgent and important task we face is asserting Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic and northern regions, where the changing physical and geopolitical landscapes have created new threats and vulnerabilities to Canada and Canadians,” notes the new policy, Our North, Strong and Free, released April 8.
This is a reversal from the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, which, in 2019, claimed “Canada’s sovereignty over the region is longstanding, well-established and based on historic title, and founded in part on the presence of Inuit and First Nations since time immemorial.”
