Prime Minister Stephen Harper will get a close look this week at Canada's efforts to beef up its military presence in the Arctic.
He'll drop in on the patrol frigate HMCS Toronto as it takes part in a month-long exercise off Baffin Island to reinforce Canadian sovereignty in the eastern Arctic.
He'll also make a brief tour of the submarine HMCS Corner Brook that is also participating in the exercise, codenamed Operation Nanook.
Harper's stops are part of a five-day tour of the three northern territories, aimed at underscoring the importance the prime minister puts on protecting Canada's Arctic sovereignty.
Government officials announced details of the Harper's Aug. 17-21 tour.
Harper has made an annual summer pilgrimage to the North since becoming prime minister but this year's visit is the most extensive he's taken yet.
He'll visit all three territories, hold a cabinet meeting in Iqaluit and is expected to make several announcements related to his government's environmental, economic development, national sovereignty and defence agenda for the region.
Harper will be joined Aug. 19 by MacKay and Chief of Defence Staff Walter Natynczyk in observing Operation Nanook. The exercise, which runs for most of August, involves naval, Coast Guard and land forces.
Naval forces, including HMCS Toronto, will be patrolling the waterways. Canadian Rangers, a reserve force of northern residents, will be conducting an amphibious landing on an island near Iqaluit while civilian agencies test emergency response plans.
He'll also visit Pangnirtung, where the government has pledged to build a commercial fisheries harbour.
Last year...now this week
Canada's prime minister Stephen Harper has visited the North every summer since becoming prime minister but this year's visit is the most extensive he's taken yet...
Published: 17.08.2009 03:55
Previous article 
- Canada's PM will visit northern territories
- Canada consults on climate change program in Iqaluit
- North needs roads, housing, money
- Canada's prime minister eats seal and his words
- Power goes out & Harper's tour continues
- Help us develop, NWT's premier says
- Training, roads, ports announced for NWT, Nunavut
- Harper in Yukon
- Canada's PM will visit northern territories
- Canada consults on climate change program in Iqaluit
- North needs roads, housing, money
- Canada's prime minister eats seal and his words
- Power goes out & Harper's tour continues
- Help us develop, NWT's premier says
- Training, roads, ports announced for NWT, Nunavut
- Harper in Yukon
Canada-Nunavut
15.12.2010 11:33
“If [the federal government] is serious about sovereignty and Canada’s North, we really need viable communities to be living in"
Read more 15.12.2010 10:55
The work of Inuk artist and writer Alootook Ipellie continues to be appreciated— mainly in Europe.
Read more 11.12.2010 12:03
"We have to break the iceberg into pieces. Then things will come out. After the iceberg has crumbled, there’s a cleansing of the body"
Read more 07.12.2010 13:15
Ottawa has proposed that about 44,500 square kilometres of marine territory in Lancaster Sound become a protected area.
Read more 07.12.2010 13:10
A changing diet and a reluctance to take supplements means many people in Nunavut suffer from Vitamin D deficiency.
Read more 05.12.2010 14:46
“We’re very hopeful that what we’re going to hear is the confirmation from the federal government of expansive boundaries for the marine conservation area"
Read more 03.12.2010 14:35
The Nutrition North program depends on competition among airlines and retailers to lower the costs of transporting perishable foods.
24.11.2010 16:34
"You will not allow those uranium mines to open, for the health and well-being not just of you and your descendants, but for the health and well-being of the whole planet"
Read more 22.11.2010 07:45
A storm in the region Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 had temperatures dropping and ice forming.
21.11.2010 14:14
"If you can get to the [Arctic] shore by some form of maritime transport, then you can get onto one of these aircrafts without being checked."
Read more