Canadian military spending could help build North

Canada should use military investment as a catalyst for northern economic development, says a report issued Tuesday by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

The FCM report, issued in Iqaluit, says the best way to jumpstart infrastructure investments for northern communities is to leverage the billions in military spending that is intended to bolster Canada's northern sovereignty.

"This would in fact be consistent with the federal government's 2007 Northern Strategy, which laid out a vision for the North that integrates an increased military presence with building healthier communities, protecting the environment, and diversifying the regional economy," says the report authored by Ken Coates and Greg Poelzer of the International Centre for Northern Governance and Development at the University of Saskatchewan.

"Other countries, including Russia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Greenland and the United States, have used military investments to improve northern community infrastructure."

The federal government should work with provincial, territorial and municipal leaders to develop a list of infrastructure priorities, suggests the FCM.

"Canada's Northern Strategy provides an excellent starting point for building a new vision for the North. Now the federal government must work closely with front-line municipal leaders to develop a long-term plan to build the infrastructure necessary to sustain northern communities," said Hans Cunningham FCM president.

A world leader

Stakeholders shouldn't come up with a community-by-community shopping list, says the FCM. What's needed is a description of the needs of northern communities and a set of standards connected to what southern Canadians take for granted consistent with international circumpolar standards.

The FCM report, called On the Front Lines of Canada's Northern Strategy, also says Canada should take the lead in finding ways to adapt to climate change.

"A long-term infrastructure plan for the North would make Canada a world leader in developing the strategies, technologies and financing needed to adapt to climate change - lessons that could be shared and exported to the rest of the globe."

This story is posted on Alaska Dispatch as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.