Minister evoked some Arctic history

One hundred years ago, French Canadian explorer J.E. Bernier was steaming his way through the Arctic archipelago,

One hundred years ago, French Canadian explorer J.E. Bernier was steaming his way through the Arctic archipelago, planting flags, collecting taxes from Scottish whalers, and befriending Inuit.

Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon came to Whitehorse, and evoked Bernier’s adventures of a century ago, highlighting the importance of asserting sovereignty over Canada’s northern extremities.

“Today, the Arctic and the North are back on the international and domestic agenda as never before,” said Cannon, reading from a prepared speech to an audience of dignitaries at the Westmark Hotel in Whitehorse.

“Much has changed since Captain Bernier’s epic voyage in the Arctic,” Cannon proclaimed.

Indeed. Here is how Bernier described part of what he accomplished on his 1908-1909 expedition, during a speech at the Empire Club in Toronto, in December 1909.

“In annexing those lands, we have annexed probably in the neighbourhood of 8,000 Esquimaux (sic), and when I took possession of Banks Land on the ninth of November, the King’s birthday, I told them that they had become Canadians and therefore were subject to our laws.”

Protected from imperialistic machinations by extreme geography, perilously moving ice sheets and inhospitable climate, technology - manifesting itself in a steamship laden with six years’ worth of food and supplies - allowed foreign ambitions manifested this instance in Bernier, a foothold in a foreboding North.

But Bernier was not satisfied with simply a foothold, and for the Inuit who came into contact with him, they scarcely could be expected to comprehend the ramifications of his appearance in their homeland.

Again, here is Bernier speaking to the Empire Club in 1909 - the following a purported verbal exchange between Inuit and himself about the northerners’ new leader.

“You have to respect this great man ...whose photo was in my cabin - Sir Wilfred Laurier,” Bernier recalled.

“One of them asked me if he was my father. I said ‘No, my father was a smaller man than that,’ but, I said, ‘That man holds in his hand today everything that belongs to Canada; whatever he says goes.’”

So much for history.

Jet planes, highways and giant ocean-going vessels of today (aided by climate change melting the pack ice in the northern hemisphere) have made it relatively easy for any old Tom, Dick or Larry, including Cannon, to make it to, or through, the North.

Here is Cannon’s take on the current state of Canadian Arctic affairs, circa 2009:

“Our North is home to more than 100,000 Canadians across three territories - the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and, most recently, Nunavut,” Cannon said.

“We recognize that climate change is having a disproportionate impact on the Arctic and its inhabitants, though experts do not agree on the pace of this dramatic change,” he continued.

“Some experts, for example, predicted the entire Arctic could be ice-free in summer by 2013; others say this will happen in 2050.”

Though Bernier’s voyage provided a timely reference for Cannon, the tenacious French Canadian explorer’s 1908-1909 chilly high seas sojourn aboard the appropriately christened Arctic, was his third such trip.

The impediment ice created for Bernier’s trip was very different from the 21st-century concern that one day there will be no ice at all.

This unfortunate state of affairs puts a vast cache of natural resources and control over the Northwest Passage at stake, raising questions as to why Cannon would reference somebody who failed to make it through the then-fabled sea transit route to the Pacific Ocean.

Here is Bernier describing how orders from Ottawa foiled a 1907 attempt, during his second of three Arctic voyages:

“The present government could not see their way clear to risk 43 lives and the good little Arctic to undertake a passage of which we had very little information.”

Even on Bernier’s third trip, he was only able to make it halfway through the passage. But the trip was not a failure for establishing Canadian sovereignty, according to international law, said Cannon.

And to achieve this, Bernier raised flags everywhere he could, even erecting a bronze plaque on Melville Island to make the point. But staking Canada’s claim to the 19,000 islands that comprise the country’s Arctic archipelago will require more than monuments.

“Prime Minister (Stephen) Harper is a strong advocate of Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic,” the Foreign Affairs Minister reminded the dignitaries in attendance for his pronouncements.

“On August 10, 2007, he unveiled three new initiatives to further demonstrate (that) sovereignty.”

The Canadian Forces Arctic Training Centre in Resolute Bay, Nunavut is now a reality, and construction on a deep-water port in Nanisivik, Nunavut will commence in 2011, said Cannon.

As well, the Canadian Rangers - a patrol force comprised primarily of Inuit and native volunteers - will be expanded by 900 members, complete with upgraded uniforms, equipment and weaponry.

Harkening back to Bernier’s expedition, Cannon pointed to a “spirit of co-operation and respect” that assisted the French Canadian explorer and others like him.

“With help from Inuit guides, (Bernier) travelled to the far reaches of the vast territory transferred from the Dominion of Canada from Great Britain in 1880,” said Cannon.

Here’s how Bernier described an encounter with Inuit on his voyage at the Empire Club, circa 1909:

“I told them that they had become Canadians and therefore they were subject to our laws,” boasted Bernier.

“Well, they could not see that, but I tell you they saw it when they came on board my vessel to a dinner which I had invited them, and they had everything they wanted, and then they commenced to realize that it was a good thing to be Canadian.”

But in the Arctic and far north regions of Canada today, residents are without much of what they want.

Adding to the substandard housing and a lack of infrastructure are contaminants, like DDT still used on the Asian continent, now turning up in local food supplies.

While Canada’s Northwest Passage offers a naval shortcut to the Far East, prevailing winds give pollutants emanating from countries such as China, free passage to the West.

Ta’an Kwach’an Council Chief Ruth Massie got right to the point after welcoming Cannon to the Ta’an’s traditional territory prior to the minister’s speech.

“I want to say a few words for what we would like you to do for us. I’m concerned about airborne pollutants getting into our foods which in turn affects our health,” said Massie, adding she hoped Cannon will take her message back to Ottawa and get some action on the matter.

Whether Cannon can do anything to stop atmospheric transit of these contaminants, or stop developing nations from using them, is subject to conjecture.

But perhaps one of the 20 graduate fellowships the minister announced Wednesday could further examine the issue, at least from a scientific perspective.

“These (fellowships) will be provided to students across Canada over the next two years,” said Cannon. “In this way, we will draw on the energy and insights of our future leaders.”

And if the minister’s description of said fellowships seemed vague, his grasp of Canadian history cursory, Cannon’s responses on the current offshore boundary dispute between Canada and the United States betrayed an apparent lack basic knowledge of geography.

“It’s a little premature now to tell you when that issue will be settled but the important thing is to start the dialogue,” he replied to a question regarding the international boundary between Alaska and the Yukon and how it extends into the sea.

At stake is a treasure trove of oil and natural gas claims. “There’s that issue and the issue of the Beaufort Sea,” said the minister.

Well Mr. Cannon, that boundary dispute is in the Beaufort Sea.

In spite of Captain Bernier’s patronizing descriptions of Inuit and their subjugation on behalf of the King and then-prime minister Laurier, at least he could find his way on a map.