The military has a long history and been a key factor in building infrastructure in the North.
Many major infrastructure projects have had a military hand in their creation. The Canol Road, for example, was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers during the Second World War. That project paralleled an oil pipeline from Norman Wells to a refinery in Whitehorse. There's also the 22-station Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, radar installations completed in the 1950s, which spanned 5,944 km across Canada and employed more than 25,000 people. In the mid-1990s, the North Warning System replaced the DEW Line and that brought upgrades to airfields in Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit to allow CF-18 fighter jets to operate from those airfields.
The territory should eagerly invite military investment on contemporary projects that would help offset the North's high costs, so long as these projects are carried out in ways that respect the lifestyles of Northerners, incorporate the expertise of the Rangers and have minimal environmental impact.
Lee Carson operates Ottawa-based Norstrat Consulting, which started up to help defence contractors, industry and government execute parts of the previous federal government's Northern Strategy. He said there's still a huge need for infrastructure in the North and that reliable telecommunications systems are still not in place. The increase in shipping in the Northwest Passage will also require the creation of surveillance systems, according to Carson.
Further proof of potential liabilities came on Aug. 24 when the 117-metre Akademik Ioffe cruise ship temporarily ran aground near Kugaaruk. Mike Stephens, a Resolute entrepreneur and experienced ship’s captain, said several vessels have run aground in the North over the past several years. He predicts that these occurrences will become more frequent as the Northwest Passage is traversed more regularly.
Stephens, a principal in Amarok Enterprises Ltd., has been lobbying the federal government to support a business proposal that he and his spouse, Sarah Salluviniq, have put forward. It would see a ship, properly equipped with multi-beam sonar technology, which Stephens has used elsewhere in the past, survey Arctic Ocean waters while making cargo deliveries. The surveying data would be turned over to the Canadian Hydrographic Service, the country’s authority for nautical charts and publications under the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. This is a potential model of a built-in-the-North solution to address a monumental challenge facing Northerners and the federal government.
Carson said surveillance systems in the Northwest Passage should include, "ground stations in the North, jobs in the North and side benefits for the North." He cited the existing Inuvik Satellite Station as an example of spinoff benefits of such infrastructure.
"When Canada buys defence equipment, traditionally, you have to provide the best kit for the Canadian Armed Forces, but you also have to create what the government calls industrial technology benefits," said Carson, adding that this can mean creating jobs and opportunities in the private sector.
Building and enhancing Northern infrastructure should be done in partnership with the people North of 60.
Ottawa and the military will strengthen claims to Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic and Northerners will reap benefits through improved transportation corridors, safety, technology and jobs.