Monitoring the premises

Now this is the kind of military investment that's actually worthwhile:

The Canadian Space Agency is buying $400-million worth of Arctic imagery from Richmond, B.C.-based MacDonald Dettwiler Associates, which owns the soon-to-be-launched Radarsat 2 polar orbiter.

The satellite, scheduled to be airborne next summer, is expected to operate over a seven-year lifespan, said navy Lt.-Cmdr. Robert Quinn, project director.

The federal investment is less than the cost of a new icebreaker — and the satellite can see in all weather, day or night, 365 days a year, Defence officials say.

There's a long way to go in actually defending the Arctic. In addition to putting a lot more effort into the manpower and equipment to enforce our sovereignty, the longer-term plan should include launching Canada's own satellites rather than relying on private-sector observation.

But it'll take time to determine the best possible means to do so, and in the meantime this deal is a significant step in the right direction.