Far up north on the tip of Baffin Island, an abandoned mine is set to play out a crucial military role in Canada's mission to assert its sovereignty in the Arctic.
(CBC)
CBC News has learned that the federal government is proposing to refurbish the former lead-and-zinc mining site into a deepwater docking facility, and also plans to build an army training centre in the North.
Military planning documents, obtained through an Access to Information request, outline plans for a $60-million conversion of the old Nanisivik Mine, which closed in 2002, into a Canadian naval station.
An army training centre is expected to be located in Resolute, Nunavut, one of Canada's most northern communities, sitting on the shores of the disputed Northwest Passage. The international strait remains free to all navigation, although Canada claims ownership over the much-coveted waterway and shipping route.
The prospect of the new, strategically placed military centre is exciting for Pierre Leblanc, the former commander of the Canadian Forces in the North.
"That facility, being a military facility sitting on the Northwest Passage, will also give a very clear political signal to the rest of the international community that we are serious about our sovereignty," Leblanc said.
Full Story
Will these moves solidify our claim to sovereignty over the Northwest Passage?
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Military planning documents, obtained through an Access to Information request, outline plans for a $60-million conversion of the old Nanisivik Mine, which closed in 2002, into a Canadian naval station.
An army training centre is expected to be located in Resolute, Nunavut, one of Canada's most northern communities, sitting on the shores of the disputed Northwest Passage. The international strait remains free to all navigation, although Canada claims ownership over the much-coveted waterway and shipping route.
The prospect of the new, strategically placed military centre is exciting for Pierre Leblanc, the former commander of the Canadian Forces in the North.
"That facility, being a military facility sitting on the Northwest Passage, will also give a very clear political signal to the rest of the international community that we are serious about our sovereignty," Leblanc said.
Full Story
Will these moves solidify our claim to sovereignty over the Northwest Passage?
More...