Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok says the federal government's commitments to boosting defence spending, specifically in the North, could be a "generational opportunity" for the people who live there.
The three-day annual summer meeting of Canada's premiers at the Council of the Federation, currently taking place in Halifax, is focused on health care, housing and the environment.
Meanwhile, on day two of the gathering, the premiers of Canada's territories spoke to reporters about the how the issues affect their jurisdictions specifically, with security and defence spending opportunities at the forefront.
"We look at the infrastructure gap that you see between the North and the South, and it continues to grow," Akeeagok said. "The commitment to get to that two per cent is an incredible opportunity that we shared with (Defence) Minister (Bill) Blair and (Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie) Joly, as well."
After years of pressure from NATO allies to reach the alliance's spending commitment of two per cent of GDP on defence, the Canadian government announced it is set to achieve that target by 2032.
Plus, the federal government's long-awaited defence policy update released in April highlights needs and opportunities for investment in the North, with an entire section of the document dedicated to the region.
At the 75th NATO Summit last week, in front of a global audience, Blair announced the federal government's intention to purchase up to a dozen submarines, with the minister citing the need for them in the Arctic, in addition to icebreakers that will be destined for the region, thanks to a trilateral agreement with the U.S. and Finland.
Akeeagok 鈥� flanked by Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson and Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai 鈥� pointed to renewed focus on the North, in particular the Northwest Passage, as showing opportunity for "dual-use infrastructure" projects, which serve both the federal government and local communities.
"We need healthy communities for us to bring security and sovereignty into Canada, and as such it's those investments that we're very excited about as an opportunity moving forward, where we see that NATO investment could really impact both our territories, but also Canada, in asserting their right to the North," Akeeagok said.
Pillai told reporters at the press conference that he "felt there was a lack of information that was being provided over the last couple of years," from the federal government to the territorial premiers, leading them to form their own security council.
"So we've actually built a strategy that we're now sharing with Canada to say these are the things you have to understand at a grassroots level, and these are the areas that we think there's advantages to working with the local population," the Yukon premier said, adding he feels the situation has improved lately, and pointing to a recent meeting with Blair and Joly as proof of that.
"We're in constant conversation, talking about where the threats are, where the concerns are, and how this new (defence policy) strategy not only is going to be incredibly important to the nation, but from an economic perspective," Pillai said.
He also said local populations and First Nation development corporations should have time to prepare for the kind of procurement opportunity the federal government's defence spending commitments will yield.
While climate change alters the Arctic landscape, making it more vulnerable to foreign threats, Akeeagok said Joly and Blair "made it very clear that there's no imminent threat to the North as we speak."
But, he said, "we need to be prepared," especially as melting ice in the North has the potential to create new or changed shipping routes.
"We're behind already," Pillai added. "If we're 20 years away from seeing these shipping routes become really significant routes globally, when we take into consideration the time it takes to build port infrastructure, the cost, the environmental assessment process, the consultation process, and you take all of that in consideration, you think 20 years from now that there's going to be a lot of traffic, then we're behind based on how long it takes to build."
"So we really need to ensure that our federal leaders continue to have ambition and understand how important this is, and it all helps us get to our two per cent (NATO spending target), I mean, this is about building infrastructure," he also said.
The Council of the Federation meetings in Halifax are set to wrap up Wednesday.
