Northern Strategy Progress Report & Launch of the Northern Strategy Vision

Speaking Notes
for
the Honourable Chuck Strahl, PC, MP
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-status Indians

Northern Strategy Progress Report & Launch of the Northern Strategy Vision

Canadian Museum of Civilization - Gatineau, Quebec
July 26, 2009

Check against delivery

(Acknowledgments of other Cabinet Ministers, and other dignitaries in attendance, as appropriate ....) I am delighted to be here today, to speak to you about a component of our national identity that is of great importance to me, to this Conservative government and to all Canadians.

As you know, Canada is a Northern nation, an Arctic nation. The North is a fundamental part of our Canadian heritage and our sense of who we are. It is the homeland of Inuit and other Aboriginal peoples, as well as generations of non-Aboriginal Northerners.

My colleagues and I recognize the tremendous opportunities and challenges in the North today. Now, more than ever, we see the potential of the North, its natural resources and its Northern institutions and governments, including Aboriginal governments. All of these things are evolving to shape the future of this great region and of Canada as a whole. Together, we must seize the opportunities that the North presents, and tackle the challenges that remain.

This is a time of significant change for the North. The Arctic region is increasingly the focus of domestic and international interest. It is also now common knowledge that the North is experiencing – perhaps more than any other region in Canada – the impact of climate change.

All of these factors demand that we take action. Our government has already heard the call. We have made the North one of our top priorities, placing it higher on the policy agenda than it has been in many decades. One way we have demonstrated this is through our integrated Northern Strategy.

We have a clear vision for Canada's North and are working to ensure it achieves its true promise as a healthy, prosperous region within a strong and sovereign nation. This is not an exercise in promise–making.

We have already moved forward on our strategy with a number of initiatives, some of which I will highlight in a few moments. And we are committed to ensuring results benefit Northerners and all Canadians.

As part of our strategic vision, I am pleased today to release "Canada's Northern Strategy: Our North, Our Heritage, Our Future." This document – and its corresponding website, which I urge you to visit at NorthernStrategy.gc.ca  – outlines in detail the four pillars of our government's integrated Northern Strategy. Namely:

• exercising our Arctic sovereignty;
• promoting social and economic development;
• protecting the North's environmental heritage; and,
• improving and devolving northern governance.

Along with articulating our vision for the North, it also highlights our extensive progress to date, including major investments as part of Canada's Economic Action Plan.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper we are taking concrete action to deliver on our vision for the North, and to fulfill our promises.

Let me tell you about some of the progress we have made.

We are addressing the need for housing, health care, skills development and other services in the North. Through the Northern Housing Trust, we have helped construct hundreds of new housing units across the North, easing overcrowding and laying the foundation for socio-economic development. We will continue to work with Northerners to build sustainable communities and develop the resources and tools Northerners need to play an even greater role in the Canadian economy.

We are protecting important environmentally sensitive lands and waters in our North, such as the Nahanni National Park.

On a trip that I made to Nahanni in the NWT two weeks ago with Minister Prentice, we celebrated the expansion of the park, a truly magnificent part of our country and a world heritage site. It really is an excellent example of our government's commitment to the environment and the economic potential of the North. With Nahanni, we are proudly ensuring that conservation keeps pace with development.

As you well know, we are creating a new economic development agency for the North, shaped by northern realities and poised to respond to northern interests. We are supporting important new geo-mapping initiatives to better understand the North's mineral and petroleum potential. And we are working to improve regulatory processes across the North, which will build investor confidence and increase economic opportunities for Northerners.

We will also be building a world class research station in the High Arctic, which will place Canada on the cutting edge of Arctic research. To ensure Canadian scientists have modern research facilities in which to conduct their work, we have also invested in upgrading our existing network of Arctic research facilities.

We are supporting important International Polar Year research projects, such as the Inuit Health Survey.

We are establishing a deep-water berthing and fuelling facility in Nanisivik and building a new polar icebreaker that will be named in honour of the late Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker. This vessel will be the largest and most powerful icebreaker ever in the Canadian Coast Guard fleet.

We are continuing to work with Northerners to advance the development of territorial and Aboriginal governments. The Protocol on devolution in Nunavut, reached jointly with the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated last fall, sets out a path for future negotiations and is an important step toward the transfer of federal authorities to the North.

And, as always, we are building on our international partnerships…my colleague Minister Cannon will speak to our initiatives on Arctic sovereignty in a moment.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the North is both our heritage and our future. It holds the key not only to our economic prosperity, but also to an environmentally sustainable future for our nation.

The Harper Government knows this. We have pledged to Northerners to work with them to realize this potential. And we are fulfilling that pledge. With the integrated Northern Strategy as a guide, we will continue to deliver on the commitments we have made to Northerners, for the benefit of all Canadians.

Thank you.