Despite the fact that the melting ice in the Arctic means that there will be longer shipping seasons, the Canadian Coast Guard says that it won’t be able to keep its icebreakers in the region for longer periods of time. The icebreakers are usually in the Arctic from mid-June until the fall. Even though there are icebreakers in the region until mid-November, some fishing boats and other commercial vessels stay in the area after the icebreakers have left the Arctic. This has been a growing trend in recent years, since the ice started shrinking. more »

In the past week several leaders in Arctic issues have been pushing the Conservative government of Canada to reinstate the position of Arctic ambassador. But the Conservatives had no plans on reinstating the position that was cut in 2006, stating that Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon has, for all intent, taking the position on himself.

Leading Arctic expert Whitney Lackenbauer, the head of Canada’s nation-wide Inuit organization, Mary Simon and Liberal MP Larry Bagnell have all pressed for the Arctic ambassador position to be brought back as a part of the country’s new northern strategy.

In a statement on the topic, Simon said, “While a renewed focus on the Arctic Council is welcome, the reinstatement of Canada’s ambassador to the Arctic would also be a welcome development for Inuit.” She also told Canwest News that through the termination of the position Canada has lost a “very important” voice in the growing global debate over the Arctic’s future.

Lackenbauer, who authored the new study, From Polar Race to Polar Saga: An Integrated Strategy for Canada and the Circumpolar World agrees with Simon, writing; “It is important for Canada to have a dedicated ambassador to act as our face to the world on circumpolar issues….Appointing a northerner to this position would send a strong signal that Canada’s policies are reflective of its northern peoples’ priorities.”

Bagnell, who is the MP for the Yukon and the Liberal critic on the North, released a scathing critique last week detailing the Conservative government’s record on the Arctic, reiterating the Liberals election campaign promise from last fall that they would reinstate the position of Arctic ambassador.

“It’s not just that we can’t trust the Conservatives to keep their promises to the North. They’ve got no vision on the issues that matter to northerners, and are letting us down across the board.”

According to his spokesperson, in an effort to witness first hand what climate change is doing to the Arctic, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will be visiting a Norwegian Island that is deep in the Arctic Circle. The island, Spitsbergen is located near the North Pole. more »

Last week the U.S. imposed a temporary ban on industrial fishing in the Arctic until further research into the environmental impact of large scale fishing in the area is conducted. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said that despite the potential for a fishing market in snow crab, Arctic cod and saffron cod, not enough is known about the region’s fish stocks to authorize large commercial fishing operations. more »

For the first time ever, the Government of Norway agreed to host four Canadian undergraduate students at Norway’s Andoya Rocket Range. The students, who will be chosen from the universities of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Calgary will get the chance to launch a research rocket this coming November as part of the exchange project. The Andoya Rocket Range is located two degrees north of the Arctic Circle. more »

With around 700 Canadian military in the Arctic for Operation Nook, which is the Forces’ annual exercise in sovereignty in Iqaluit, Canadian officials are saying that the country’s military could at some point start testing its Arctic capabilities not just in the summer, but year round. more »

At the end of this month, the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) will be running some tests on a model of the country’s proposed Arctic patrol boat, even though there is no sign of when the department will be approaching the shipbuilding industry to go ahead with the $3 billion dollar program to build the new vessels. more »

Despite the raging heat that some North Americans are dealing with in the second half of August, most of the summer was cooler than usual. And while we may not have been overly happy with the cool, wet weather, the resulting thicker Hudson Bay ice is a welcome site to environmentalists. And polar bears. Because of the thicker ice, the area’s polar bears have had extra time to fill up on their meal of choice: ringed seals. more »