Canada’s military is better in the Arctic than people believe, says report – Times Colonist
May 26, 2015
Canada’s military is doing a much better job of protecting Arctic sovereignty in an increasingly busy North than Canadians think, says a new think-tank report.
“Canadians need to understand what I believe the military already understands,” said Adam Lajeunesse of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute. “They recognize that their role up there is not traditional military.”
In a report released Tuesday, Lajeunesse said too many Canadians believe other countries look to shows of military force when considering who controls northern waters — especially in light of mammoth Arctic military exercises staged recently by Russia and the Scandinavian countries.
“They need to understand that presence does not equate to sovereignty,” said Lajeunesse. “We could have 50 icebreakers sailing back and forth and it does absolutely nothing.”
