Russell Pleased with Senate Recommendations on Arctic Sovereignty

OTTAWA, May 12, 2009 — Labrador MP Todd Russell welcomes the recommendations of the Senate committee on Fisheries and Oceans, whose latest report calls for a beefed-up Coast Guard presence in the North.

“Senators have adopted a vision very much in line with what the previous Liberal government had put forward in our Northern Access Initiative,” Russell said. “In particular, they have recognized the important role that Goose Bay can play in advancing Canada’s national interests in our Northern and Arctic regions.”

The Senate committee recommended, among other things, that the federal government consider Goose Bay as a sub-Arctic staging area for the coordination and support of Coast Guard, fisheries, search and rescue, surveillance and other Arctic activities.

Other key recommendations of particular interest to Labradorians include making the Canadian Rangers in integral part of the reserves, providing the Rangers with marine capabilities, and recruiting Inuit for service in the Canadian Coast Guard.

“Given that there has been absolutely no movement by the Conservatives towards honouring their election promises to Goose Bay and Labrador, these recommendations offer another route forward,” Russell said. “I call on the government to incorporate these plans into Canadian Arctic sovereignty policy, with the co-operation and participation of northern communities, Aboriginal peoples, and all other stakeholders.”

The Senate committee’s report is available freely on the internet, under the title “Rising to the Arctic Challenge: Report on the Canadian Coast Guard.”

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Todd Russell, MP

Labrador

(613) 996-4630