The Nanisivik Naval Facility still languishes unfinished more than a decade past its completion date, amid a flurry of Arctic announcements from the Liberal government.
WATCH: The Nanisivik Naval Facility in Nunavut still languishes unfinished more than a decade past its completion date, amid a flurry of Arctic announcements and growing concern over Russia and China’s influence in the region.“ Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty over the Arctic,” he said on the shores of Esquimalt Harbour, B.C., while announcing plans for a fleet of new Arctic offshore patrol ships and a deep-sea port to be used as their base.
“The challenges we have faced at that particular facility have demonstrated that that’s not the way to go forward,” Defence MinisterU.S. President Donald Trump former U.S. president Ronald Reagan a globe, pointed to the Arctic and said, “Ron, that’s ours. We own it, lock, stock and icebergs.”When he announced the Nanisivik Naval Facility, the project was going to cost Ottawa an estimated $100 million with a completion date of 2015. The site would provide a critical refuelling facility for the Royal Canadian Navy and other government vessels operating in the Arctic, including Harper’s $3.
In a response to a long-delayed request for comment, DND would not answer a question about who the new contractor was, but said the Surety Intact Insurance Company was the bonding agency. They would not disclose how much work was left to do, but said, “We are still finalizing the work plan.”Nanisivik was supposed to form part of Canada’s wider Arctic strategy.
“I am concerned, you know Canada has the longest coastline in the world. We are a naval country, and when the politicians cut budgets then all of a sudden the government wakes up and we have to start doing catch up,” Arctic Bay resident and manager of Arctic Bay Adventures Chris Mitchell says.
Other government pledges remain works in progress. The Canadian Arctic ambassador position remains unfilled, according to a Global Affairs Canada spokesperson, and Canadian officials have engaged with foreign officials on the new consulates, but they aren’t open yet. It was another example of “pure political theatre” in the Arctic, according to Rob Huebert, Arctic security expert at the University of Calgary.
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