Canada to set up Arctic research station

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his Government will set up a High Arctic research station in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut to bolster Canada’s sovereignty in the far north.

The year-round, multidisciplinary facility will explore “the cutting-edge of Arctic science and technology issues ... and it will help protect and understand the northern environment,” his office said in a statement. It is an “integral part” of the government’s northern strategy, it said.

“By building this leading-edge research station, we are advancing Canada’s knowledge of the Arctic’s resources and climate...,” Harper said, on the second day of a five-day tour of the Arctic.

The prime minister was supposed to deliver the news in Cambridge Bay, a primary port of call for ships navigating the famed Northwest Passage, on the southeastern tip of Victoria Island, but heavy winds delayed his flight out of Churchill, Manitoba.

Instead, Harper made the announcement from Churchill, where Monday he pledged funding for improvements to the local airport.

Over the next three days, Harper is to visit Resolute, Tuktoyaktuk and Whitehorse.

With the acceleration of Arctic ice melt, interest in the region has soared. Shrinking ice has opened up sea navigation, and could give oil rigs improved access to the sea floor.

Harper has boosted Canada’s military presence in the far north and visited the region each summer to assert Canadian sovereignty over disputed areas.

Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States claim overlapping parts of the region believed to be rich in hydrocarbons.

AFP