With others Arctic countries such as Russia and Norway promising to increase their military presence in the Arctic, another Arctic country is taking a slightly different approach to securing their piece of the region and strengthening their position in the race for Arctic resources.

Canada is not incorporating any new initiatives into its Arctic plan, but is instead working on improving the existing Northern Strategy, stressing to the public how active Canada is in the Arctic.

In a recent interview, Chuck Strahl, Canadian federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development spoke of the Northern Strategy and what Canada wants to accomplish with the revamping, saying, “All of this has been articulated in campaigns and in individual announcements, but it’s never been articulated in one document. Really what we’re doing, countries around the world in this calendar year are laying out what they think the future of the north looks like. Canada hasn’t had one that describes what it is we think should be the emphasis in the north.”

While laying out Canada’s future plans for the North, including a new research station in the High Arctic, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, speaking at a news conference with Minister Strahl and Science and Technology Minister Gary Goodyear, also emphasized the increasing need for international co-operation when it comes to the Arctic. In speaking of peaceful co-operation, Minister Cannon mentioned the fact that Canada is working with the other Arctic countries to map out the ocean floor by the UN’s 2013 deadline.

And despite all the controversy surrounding Russia’s tactics when it comes to laying claim to the Arctic seabed, Minister Cannon says that, in the end, it really doesn’t bother him.

“It doesn’t bother me. Thousands of people lay claim to Mount Everest and put flags there,” Minister Cannon said. “The Russians are playing games and they know that. So I don’t worry about it. We’ve all agreed that the way to go forward is to abide by international law.”