Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is being presented with an exciting opportunity to engage on northern priorities on both the national and international stage.
On May 13, 2013, Canada will be taking over chairmanship of the Arctic Council for a two-year term. The Arctic Council is a consensus-based, high-level intergovernmental forum that works to promote the social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainable development in the Arctic region. All eight circumpolar nations sit on the council and receive direct input from the six permanent participant organizations representing the indigenous people of the Circumpolar Arctic.
As Canada begins preparing for the upcoming chairmanship, and recognizing the power of a pan-territorial approach, the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut have been closely working together to define our common interests. As articulated in the pan-territorial document A Northern Vision, the territories are committed to speaking as a unified northern voice in advancing Canada’s participation in the Arctic Council.
I have communicated our commitment to support Canada on the Arctic Council to Minister Leona Aglukkaq, Member of Parliament for Nunavut, who was recently appointed as Canada’s chairperson to the Arctic Council and will guide the Arctic Council vision over the two years of the Canadian chairmanship.
I have committed to Minister Aglukkaq that the Northwest Territories will play a larger role in supporting Canada as they prepare for their chairmanship of the Arctic Council and throughout the entire two years. The Arctic Council is Canada’s premier forum to advance its Arctic Foreign Policy, which is the international dimension of Canada’s Northern Strategy. Many of our Government of the Northwest Territories priorities complement the pillars of the Northern Strategy and we will work with Canada throughout its chairmanship to advance these common interests.
Our commitment was further reiterated by Deputy Premier Lafferty on my behalf this past weekend, when he met with Minister Aglukkaq during her visit to Yellowknife as part of her Northern Engagement Tour. This northern tour has been an opportunity for Minister Aglukkaq to engage with the territories on Canada’s chairmanship theme, which is, “Development for the People of the North.”
Deputy Premier Lafferty, accompanied by Minister Ramsay, Minister Abernethy and Minister Beaulieu presented many of our priority issues such as search and rescue, cost of living, sustainable housing, employment opportunities, energy,
infrastructure and climate change as important issues being faced by communities and regions across the Northwest Territories and the Circumpolar North.
During her visit, the Minister also hosted three separate roundtables with Government of the Northwest Territories Ministers, Aboriginal and Municipal Leaders, and Northwest Territories stakeholders. The roundtables gave participants an opportunity to engage with the Minister and provide input on Canada’s theme of “Development for the People of the North,” and three sub-themes of arctic resource development, responsible and safe arctic shipping, and sustainable circumpolar communities. Canada’s theme and sub-themes align well with our territorial and pan-territorial priorities, and we hope to continue to engage with Minister Aglukkaq in a more formalized role during Canada’s chairmanship.
We appreciate Canada’s commitment to the Arctic Council and support them in their theme and positions on many topics including sustainable development, the inclusion of new observers to the council, and support for permanent participants.
The chairmanship is an exciting opportunity for Canada’s North. The Northwest Territories is an ideal location to host many Arctic Council discussions throughout the two-year Canadian chairmanship and presents an opportunity to showcase the immense potential of Canada’s northern communities to the rest of the circumpolar world.
We look forward to supporting Canada in achieving our many common goals, while bringing tangible benefits to the North and Canada as a whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.