On sovereignty

While the Cons have spent plenty of time turning attention to the need for Canada to maintain sovereignty over its Arctic areas, Charlie Angus rightly highlights the fact that with sovereignty comes responsibility:

MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) says that if Stephen Harper is serious about asserting Northern sovereignty he will take responsibility for a growing toxic crisis caused by the Department of Defense. At issue are 17 radar bases that were abandoned in the 1960s by DND. Government documents obtained by the NDP reveal a disturbing picture of PCB contamination of water, animals and human residents.

Angus says the Federal government continues to stonewall on taking responsibility for the threats posed by this contamination.

“Negligence on the part of DND has resulted in the steady poisoning of the land and people of the far north. DND has been aware of the threat. And yet, they have done nothing to mitigate the threat posed to wildlife and citizens,” says Angus. “It’s time Stephen Harper put boots on the ground to deal with the toxic time bomb ticking away on the shores of the northern waters.”...

Among the toxic threats revealed:

- Along the shores of the Winisk River, there are 50,000 abandoned barrels that are seeping unidentified quantities of oil, diesel and PCBs. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands more barrels have already been washed away by spring flooding.
- At Site 60 groundwater contamination has been found to have PCBs at 16 000 times the allowable limit.
- High levels of PCBs have been noted in humans and animal life in the region.

Of course, taking responsibility for Canada's past damage to the North would require more cost and effort than a flawed military maneuver. But besides improving the living conditions for Northern residents and making for responsible resource management, such a move would also ensure that Canada is recognized as taking on all aspects of sovereignty and control over the North. Which gives the Cons an excellent opportunity to demonstrate whether they're really out to preserve Canada's Arctic region, or only looking for excuses to throw money at military contractors.

Update: Stephane Dion offers his ideas on Northern sovereignty as well. But while setting up parks and inviting scientific cooperation are nice plans to be sure, they're far less significant steps than actually cleaning up Canada's own messes - which Dion of course conspicuously failed to do as Environment Minister.