Mr. Speaker, the spotlight is on the North as the circumpolar world takes stage in the geopolitical arena. Manmade climate change is causing Arctic ice to melt rapidly each year opening up shipping routes merchants died trying to forge ages ago and unlocking resources which were once unreachable. Now, rival powers like China and Russia are militarising the region as their posturing becomes even more hostile. As our Arctic seas continue to melt, the open waters beckon them to escalate their challenges to our sovereignty in an effort to establish an even greater foothold in the region.
If those converging factors couldn't get any worse, now Donald Trump has discarded our cooperative relationship and thrown our ability to coordinate our defense of the region into doubt. The United States has long argued already that our sovereign territory in the Arctic is an international waterway, so it's only a matter of time seemingly until the American President decides to cave into Russian pressure and try to secure them a bigger role in the Arctic just as they are doing in Ukraine. With the United States retreating from the free world and western nations are now rearming to face threats alone, it's time for us to do the same.
For too long we have neglected our armed forces and defense infrastructure; however, if the chaos in the global stage caused by the United States has a silver lining it's that we may be finally be developing the political will to take corrective action. Today I was encouraged to learn the federal government is expanding its presence in the Arctic by investing well over $2 billion to establish three new defense hubs across the Arctic. While we could have used these investments years ago, these efforts are better late than never. The time has come to protect Canadian strength in the Arctic and make it clear to the rest of the world our sovereignty is not up for grabs.
Next week Canada will have a new Prime Minister, and I hope to see our Premier make clear to him that one of his first priorities in Canada is protecting the North, securing our sovereignty, and keeping the True North strong and free. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Great Slave.
