Ottawa has pledged tens of billions of dollars for Arctic defence infrastructure over the next decade, but Yukon Premier Currie Dixon says none of it has shown up on the ground in his territory.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Dixon laid out his frustration at being left out of a major prime minister's announcement in March, the state of consultation with the federal government, and what he sees as the biggest gap standing between Ottawa's plans and any real benefit for Yukoners.
Dixon was careful to frame his criticism as a call for inclusion rather than opposition to the buildup itself. He said he has pushed Ottawa for years to meet its NATO obligations by investing in Arctic security and sovereignty infrastructure, and that he is glad to see billions flowing into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. His concern, he said, is that a third of the North has so far been left out of the conversation entirely.
The premier also pointed to the Dempster Highway, the only road link between southern Canada and the Arctic Ocean, as a concrete example of the dual-use infrastructure he argues Ottawa needs to fund if it wants a serious military presence in the region.
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 money seems to be flowing in the Northwest Territories.
