Arctic Sovereignty?

We've been hearing a lot of rhetoric from our Prime Minister concerning protecting Canada's interests in the far north in the Canadian arctic archipelago. He states he is worried, as are many Canadians, that larger maritime interests such as the US and Russia will ply to the open waters of the Northwest Passage with impunity once global warming has melted the sea ice and made it "navigable".

His solution is military: show the Canadian flag at a deep sea naval port, probably using the abandoned mining facilities at Nanisivik on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island; run arctic military exercises out on the ice at the entrance to the Northwest Passage; launch satellites to monitor activity in the high arctic; refit submarines to patrol our arctic waterways; and the list is sure to go on as we edge ever closer to an election, but note Harper's proposals always have a military theme. "Use it or lose it" is the soundbite our PM's likes to trot out.

To my way of thinking "use it" implies having people living there, rather than staging military parades on ice. But what is Canada's New Government® (that phrase is really starting to rankle after the past two years) doing to make it easier for people to live there?

The cost of living here is 2 to 3 times higher than in the south of Canada, but apart from a meager northern resident's deduction, we pay taxes proportionately much higher than southerners. And our elders and unemployed receive government assistance at exactly the same rate as someone in Toronto, with no indexation to reflect the cost of living differential.

So, Mr. Harper, if you want to really show Canada's colours on our frozen landscape, at least make it possible for us to live there. Otherwise, you are blowing smoke up our collective butts.

BTW, anyone wonder why George Bush has voiced no opposition to Canada's increased military presence in our Arctic?