“I think all Canadians are probably concerned about it to a degree,” says Northwest Territories Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Premier Caroline Wawzonek, who adds that while any formal response to recent threats from the U.S. to annex Canada will come from the feds, it’s an important time for everyone across the North to “assert sovereignty.”
By “positioning the North to be economically strong” this will also benefit the rest of the country, said Minister Wawzonek.
“The fairly significant threats that were taking place just a week or so ago tell us that we can’t just assume that all will be well and we have to actually make these meaningful investments.”
Minister Wawzonek pointed out that a number of federal ministers have declared recent threats by the U.S. government to be a form of “economic warfare.” This month, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to increase tariffs to 100 per cent and in a speech on Jan. 20, spoke of plans to annex the North.
While the northern territories occupy about 40 per cent, nearly half of the country’s landmass, historically there has been little federal infrastructure investment here in comparison to regions to the south, said the minister.
Within the economic and geopolitical tensions are an “opportunity” to “grow” the North. How that will happen, and when is something that the Dene Nations, Inuit, Inuvialuit and Metis have the greatest stakes in. These are the lands of the Indigenous people of Turtle’s Island’s North, since time immemorial. That was something the Council of Leaders, including First Nation Chiefs and Premier R.J. Simpson along with Minister Wawzonek made clear in their visit to Ottawa in the fall.
With critical minerals located in the North, there is economic potential for “new mines, new exploration opportunities, driving new value chains.”
In the last few days alone, multiple MOUs have been signed between Indigenous governments and organizations along with the GNWT and the federal government’s northern economic development agency (CanNor). The MOUs were signed at a mining exploration conference in B.C.
Other territorial leaders, including MLA Shauna Morgan, have said that the cost to construct and maintain roadways into the Arctic regions of the territories could cost more than the potential revenue new mines and other industry would bring. At this week’s Dene National Assembly, while Dene Nation leaders agreed there are many potential benefits, they have also expressed concerns about how development will affect traditional ways and cultures, which are intimately interconnected with the lands.
This is a major reason why Indigenous leaders, including Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty and Chief Ernest Betsina have urged the federal government to come to the table sooner than later. In November, when the Tłı̨chǫ and the Yellowknives Dene Nations signed an MOU, the chiefs spoke of how the ways of Indigenous government take time as all members of the community from Elders to youth, are included within the dialogue.
That dialogue includes critical questions about sovereignty and what that means for the future. If development is necessary, how can it happen in a way that builds in “long term growth” for the communities most impacted?
Minister Wawzonek said something that is changing is that the federal government is beginning to come to the table.
“Arctic security and economic strengths are always a topic of conversation right now when we engage with the federal government and not only us to them, but them asking us. And I think that’s a significant shift from past years, where it would be Northern leaders going to Ottawa saying, hey, you need to think about the security and the lack thereof, now, it’s Ottawa also speaking to us saying, all right, where do we need to go? What can we do for dual use,, where do we move quickly? And how do we move quickly? So that’s been the change in the conversation.”
The minister said territorial leaders are using this as an opportunity for the country to take a “meaningful” look North and pose important questions.
“Can we even provide, in the event of an emergency, what kind of accessibility do we have for the land for the Arctic Coast? And right now, it’s not enough, it’s really non-existent,” said the minister.
“So obviously the Canadian Rangers are around and we have Northern people who know the land that are on these lands, but in terms of actually providing any kind of a military response, any kind of emergency response, Coast Guard response, the federal government has too long just talked about this, looked at the north and really put meaningful investment behind the words,” she added.
With the impending closure of the diamond mines, historically a main source of revenue for the N.W.T., the need for economic diversification has become more evident.
“Folks, I think, are rightfully anxious about the future economy of the Northwest Territories. There’s already been significant changes, you know with respect to the wind downs of petroleum over the last few years in Beaufort Delta and the Sahtu region and now with the diamond mines so you know a territory that’s long been an economic engine of natural resources is finding those traditional paths of the last 20 years, drying up,” said the minister.
“There’s a lot of anxiety around that, add to that the fact that Canada’s economy is really being put under strain and under attack by our closest neighbour, that when the Canadian economy is struggling that is not going to help us in North,” she added.
What is for certain is that this is a difficult time for the North and for the country as a whole.
“This is an opportunty for us to internationally stand up as a country, to be a circumpolar nation and we want to do that in good way, we want to do that in a way that as I said, it looks at opportunities for dual use. Opportunities for long-term infrastructure Investments, that will not only add to the security of Canada but open up the economic Opportunities of the North, which for too long, were too far away or too expensive. And if we can unlock that, not only are we asserting sovereignty, not only are we making the country more secure by providing access, whether it’s by air by boat but we’re going to be opening up the North for opportunities that can be the new drivers from our economy and proxinating economy in the future,” said Minister Wawzonek.
“As much as people may be anxious and concerned about what’s happening in the global world, there is good news coming from the North.”
