Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson says the federal government's Arctic defence buildup is already landing in his territory in a way that feels new.
Where past federal announcements left the NWT scrambling to catch up, Simpson describes a level of coordination on projects like the Inuvik and Yellowknife northern operational support hubs that he says the territory simply isn't used to.
But the premier is also candid about what the investment is arriving into: a territory running on infrastructure that's decades old and, in his words, all coming due. He wants any new spending to build on assets already in place — the JTFN headquarters, forward operating locations, the Rangers — rather than repeat old patterns that left communities on the sidelines.
The following is one segment of a three-part series interviewing the Northern premiers. Read about Nunavut’s concerns about Inuit inclusion here. Meanwhile, the premier of Yukon is worried about being left behind.
