Harper announces plan to expand energy, mineral mapping of Arctic

by Barry Artiste | August 26, 2008 at 09:44 pm
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Harper announces plan to expand energy, mineral mapping of Arctic

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Barry Artiste

Canada's drive to claim sovereignty of our Arctic takes a new turn in beating the Russians claim over our territory.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=749670

Harper announces plan to expand energy, mineral mapping of Arctic

Reuters Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2008

OTTAWA -- Canada plans to boost its spending on mapping Arctic energy and mineral resources, in order to encourage development and defend Canadian sovereignty in the far North.

The government will spend $100-million over five years, building on a plan earlier this year to spend $34-million over two years, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday as he prepared to kick off a three-day trip to the region.

"We know from a century of northern resource exploration that there is gas in the Beaufort (Sea), oil in the eastern Arctic, and gold in the Yukon.

There are diamonds in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, and countless other precious resources buried under the sea, ice and tundra," Mr. Harper said.

Ottawa says its Arctic policy is growing in importance in light of increased activity in the region by Russia and other countries. "Use it or lose it, is the first principle of Arctic sovereignty," Mr. Harper told reporters.

"To develop the North we must know the North.

To protect the North, we must control the North. And to accomplish all our goals for the North, we must be in the North," he said.

© Thomson Reuters 2008

recommend This comment thread is now closed
Milieunet
Milieunet
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 22:24 on August 26th, 2008

Barry Artiste, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Very smart work. Let's destroy another piece of the earth and before we start destroying it, ket's fight about who has the right to do that.

Paschen
Paschen
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 22:31 on August 26th, 2008

Barry Artiste, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Harper is mad, and suicidal, I would trial him for crimes against Humanity and the Environment. 

IsraeliLawStudent
IsraeliLawStudent
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 22:35 on August 26th, 2008

Barry Artiste, I like this story. It's good stuff.

This is a truly important story. With Russia's recent attacks against Georgia, Harper's aggressive policy on northern mining seems even more important to Canada's ability to harness the great potential of the region.

0
Barry Artiste

Thanks Milieunet, Paschen and Student for your comments and flag, great comments I might add.

As I have always said, the Arctic belongs to the Inuit, and if any wealth is to be had from this it should go to them, not corporate bank accounts.


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