The Harper Conservatives were openly criticized by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for excluding Nordic nations and indigenous peoples from its Arctic summit, causing embarrassment for Canada and adding to their failed Arctic policies, Liberal MPs said today.
“Canada should be using our claim to the Arctic to bring all peoples and nations with legitimate interests in the Arctic to the table,” said Liberal Critic for Arctic issues and Northern Development Larry Bagnell. “Instead, the Conservatives’ pick-and-choose approach and failed Arctic policy has harmed our interests and set us back in the region.”
Ms. Clinton, after being contacted by representatives of indigenous groups who were not invited, said “Significant international discussions on Arctic issues should include those who have legitimate interests in the region.”
“In an increasingly interdependent circumpolar world, co-operation between Arctic nations and Arctic Peoples is critical to managing our shared challenges,” said Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae. “Excluding Sweden, Finland and Iceland was a real mistake. These three countries are important partners of Canada in trade and international cooperation. Insulting them publicly was noticed back home and won’t help to restore Canada’s damaged international reputation.”
The Liberal Party is calling on the government to restore Canada’s international reputation by re-engaging with the Arctic Council and Inuit, particularly in discussions affecting international climate change and resource development.
“It is mind-boggling that the Harper government would exclude Inuit, First Nations and Métis from the table, when they have a fundamental role to play in any meaningful discussions,” said Liberal Aboriginal Affairs Critic Todd Russell.
Other substantive items discusses at the meeting also demonstrated the Harper Conservatives’ dismal record in the Arctic:
• Arctic Science cuts to northern researchers that will produce ghost laboratories in the north, closing down the PEARL laboratory at Eureka near the North Pole, losing arctic scientists to the USA and diminishing our northern sovereignty by “presence” claims.
• Inaction on Search and Rescue promises by failing to permanently station any of Canada’s Search and Rescue aircraft North of 60 or replace our old fixed wing Search and Rescue fleet, undercutting the credibility of the Conservatives’ push for a cooperative international pan-Arctic Search & Rescue scheme.
Norway’s Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere also indirectly chastised Canada for not keeping a cool head and for dealing with Russia with a Cold War mentality that unduly gave profile to Russian escapades.
“We have also called on the government to restore the position of Ambassador of Circumpolar Affairs, viewed internationally as Canada’s representative to the world on circumpolar issues, which was eliminated by the Harper government,” concluded Mr. Rae. “It’s time the Harper government live up to its promises to defend the interests of the people of the North.”
BACKGROUND
The Harper Conservatives’ failed record on the Arctic:
• They broke their 2006 election promise to build three armed icebreakers by cancelling two of them and failing to deliver on the remaining one;
• There has been no progress on much-needed plans to build new fixed-wing search-and-rescue aircraft for Canada, jeopardizing the safety of Canadians and our military while failing to live up to international obligations to work together on Arctic search and rescue;
• There is still no deep water dock facility – all they’ve done is change its planned location from Iqaluit to Nanisivik;
• They terminated the procurement process for new ice-strengthened naval resupply ships;
• No new coast guard patrol vessels have been built after the government cancelled their own procurement process; and
• They failed to increase Canadian Ranger numbers from 4,100 to 5,000.
In addition to breaking its Arctic promises, the government has let down Arctic Peoples by:
• Blocking international efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, which affect the people and economy of Canada’s North more dramatically than anywhere else in the world;
• Cutting funding the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, which funded hundreds of researchers doing studies related to the North, including the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory in Nunavut, Canada’s Northernmost research centre;
• Making no substantial progress in moving forward the two major Northern Canadian Arctic Gas Pipelines: the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline and the Alaska Highway Pipeline;
• Failing to allocate one additional cent for enforcing the expanded area covered by Pierre Trudeau’s Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act;
• Stalling effective implementation of the Nunavut Land Claim and holding up revised, more appropriate, long-term funding for the Yukon Land Claim and Self-Governance agreements; and
• Eliminating the position of the Ambassador of Circumpolar Affairs and leaving positions on Canada’s Polar Commission vacant for far too long.
