TENILLE BONOGUORE AND ALEXANDER PANETTA
Globe and Mail Update and Canadian Press
August 10, 2007 at 1:38 PM EDT
Another volley has been launched in the battle for the Arctic, with Canada announcing Friday that two new military facilities will be built in the Arctic in a bid to boost its sovereign claim to the fabled Northwest Passage.
The frigid hamlet of Resolute Bay, Nunavut – barely 600 kilometres from the magnetic North Pole and one of the coldest human settlements on Earth – will house a new army training centre for cold-weather fighting.
A new deep-sea port will also be built for navy and civilian use on the north end of Baffin Island, in the abandoned zinc-mining village of Nanisivik.
The two projects will cement Canada's claim to each end of the fabled Northwest Passage, coveted for centuries as a possible trade route to Asia.
Canada's ownership claim to the waters has been largely ignored because of the harshness of the climate, which makes maritime transportation in the barren region impractical.
That is changing, however, as warming temperatures open the prospect of resource exploitation and maritime access.
While it remains unknown just how much mineral wealth and other resources lie in the archipelago's 36,500 islands and 1.4 million square kilometres, Russia made the dramatic move of placing a flag underneath the North Pole last week to claim the area's resources as its own.
Speaking in Resolute Bay on Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the new military announcements “tell the world that Canada has a real, growing, long-term presence in the Arctic.”
“The first principle of Arctic sovereignty is: Use it or lose it,” he said. “Taken together . . . (these announcements) will significantly strengthen Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic.”
As well as the two military posts, the 4,100-member Canadian Rangers patrol – the rifle-toting Inuit volunteer force – will be increased by 900 members.
The expanded Rangers program will cost $240-million over 20 years, an average $12-million a year. The program will take on new patrol routes and have its equipment – which consists of trademark red uniforms and antique rifles modernized.
The military training facility at Resolute Bay will house 100 Canadian Forces personnel. It will cost $4-million to refurbish the existing federal buildings, with a further $2-million a year to operate the centre that will employ 12 full-time staff.
The deep-water port at the eastern entrance of the Northwest Passage will extend the range of military ships in the Arctic through the navigable season, from June to October. Environmental studies are slated to begin next year, with construction expected to begin in 2010.
The port is tipped to cost up to $100-million, with operating and maintenance to projected to cost $200-million over 20 years. It is expected to be fully operational by 2015.
--> Passt doch. Sabina ist und bleibt ein langfristiges Investment! Was interessiert da der aktuelle Sturz.... Halten und sich in ein paar Jahren über enorme Gewinne freuen.
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