Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Thincat, Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Development of the Canadian Arctic has been “abysmal,” says former prime minister Stephen Harper, but policymakers have the opportunity to change course.

In Iqaluit Friday, Harper, 66, reflected on his tenure as prime minister and on the North during a fireside chat on the final day of the three-day Nunavut Arctic Sovereignty and Security Summit.

Harper was prime minister from 2006 to 2015, leading a Conservative government for nine years.

This was his first visit to the territory since he left office, Harper said.

Udlu Hanson, a Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. vice-president led the discussion, asking Harper for his perspectives on conditions in the North.

“Canada has, compared to most other Arctic countries, an abysmal record of infrastructure development in its north,” he said.

The Canadian Arctic has a “much more inhospitable climate” than other countries’ Arctic territories, and it’s made up of many scattered islands, Harper said.

As well, the federal government’s attention was only truly first drawn to the North in the years around the time of the Second World War and the start of the Cold War in the 1940s and early 1950s.

Today, new threats exist from China, Russia, and from U.S. President Donald Trump’s musings about annexing Canada and Greenland. All of them present a need to bolster Canada’s defence in the North and upgrade infrastructure and economic opportunities in the communities, Harper said.

“I say this is a great opportunity … for us to really find a way to grow that infrastructure,” he said.

As prime minister, Harper drew criticism for using the slogan “use it or lose it” when talking about the need to assert sovereignty in the Arctic.

When Hanson pressed him on that criticism, Harper said the context involved a call to invest in northern communities. That led to increased funding for the Canadian Rangers and other projects.

“That call to action, my summer trips, my annual trips, they really did cause a groundswell of support,” he said. Harper offered two perspectives to the question of Arctic security.

The “southern” perspective, he said, is bolstering Canada’s military presence. Southern Canadians, he said, “know absolutely nothing” about the North.

For people in the North, he said, security often means secure access to food, housing and infrastructure.

If you “marry” the two ideas together, he said, there are opportunities to construct “nation-building” infrastructure that bolsters both local and national security.

The Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.’s joint priority projects, such as the Grays Bay road and port, are examples of that, he said.

Harper left a message to current elected leaders about how their decisions can leave a “legacy” in the North. Big projects that may seem challenging to build now can have a lasting impact, he said.

Arctic projects approved during his term that he said still have an impact include the Canadian High Arctic Research Station in Cambridge Bay, the Iqaluit deepsea port and the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway.

“The nation-building things are the things that people will remember,” he said.

“When we get nation-building things coming from the North, see them in that context. And if you see them in that context, you’ll understand that you will build a really important legacy for the entire country.”

Source: Nunatsiaq News