Britain To Defend the Arctic Canada Won't

The last time Britain took the lead, it didn't end well. Not for this guy, anyway.

 

British Gen. Sir Nick Carter backed diplomatically into the issue by saying that Britain was “keen to co-operate” and learn how to fight in cold, remote environments. He then stated bluntly that the U.K. wants to “co-operate in terms of helping Canada do what Canada needs to do as an Arctic country.” ...

The CBC said Britain’s Arctic offer had been proposed months ago, but Ottawa has been reluctant to collaborate because of competing claims over Arctic territory. There was a lot of discussion about the region at the NATO summit in June, but Canada has stubbornly refused to be part of the solution.

Despite the construction of a northern naval refuelling station and the commissioning of new Arctic patrol ships under former prime minister Stephen Harper, Canada’s Arctic resources are still inadequate. Our diesel-powered submarines, for example, cannot remain below the ice for long periods of time. It certainly hasn’t helped that defence spending has flat-lined under the Liberals, who have not made the region a priority.

Canada’s foot-dragging on defence poses a direct threat to our sovereignty. Ottawa is a NATO laggard and its intelligence services are considered leaky by members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance.

“Canada doesn’t have the Air Force and Navy to protect its borders anymore,” wrote terrorism and cyberwarfare expert Clint Walls in an email to the Financial Post last week.

Sadly, this one-two punch makes it very clear that Canada’s “true north strong and free” is neither strong nor free. Our two most important allies feel they must take matters into their own hands, because Canada under the Liberals refuses to behave like a sovereign nation.

 

In the event that any other nation were to stray into the Canadian Arctic, what would the Liberals do?

(For all the nay-sayers who do not believe even their Arctic borders need defending.)

Surf in Tofino? 

Who would protect the people who live there or the resources in that region?

We know who wouldn't.