Prime Minister Stephen Harper stands on an iceberg as he talks with Chief of the Defence Staff General Walter Natynczyk during Operation Nanook in Resolute, Nunavut, on Aug. 25, 2010.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
RESOLUTE, NUNAVUT. - It's all about eyes in the sky, boots on the ground and oil in the water.
Stephen Harper's visit Tuesday to Resolute, on Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, focused on different assertions of Canadian sovereignty in the High Arctic.
The Prime Minister came to inspect preparations for Operation Nanook 10, the annual military exercise aimed at projecting Canadian force in the High Arctic. This is the northernmost such exercise to date.
"With other countries becoming more interested in the Arctic and its rich resource potential, and with new trade routes opening up, we must continue to exercise our sovereignty," Mr. Harper said.
The Prime Minister witnessed a diving exercise and spoke to some of the 900 men and women who will be taking part in the August manoeuvres.
He also watched a demonstration of a simulated oil spill being contained. The fear that an unsafe oil tanker with an ill-trained crew might attempt to traverse the Northwest Passage, leading to an environmental disaster in the Arctic's frigid, fragile environment is a prime reason for Canada's determination to exercise control of the passage, despite international protests.
And Mr. Harper affirmed the government's ongoing support for the already-announced Radarsat Constellation Mission, which will put three new satellites in orbit by 2015 to monitor the movements of trespassers attempting to enter Canadian waters.
The satellites, which will cost just under $500-million to launch and maintain, will also monitor environmental changes to Canada's north and enhance weather forecasting.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to fly to Inuvik, Wednesday night.