A Conservative government in Ottawa would likely provide money to help move forward the feasibility study of the proposed Alaska-Canada rail link, says Gordon O'Connor, the party's defence critic.

'I would anticipate that when we form government, we would probably contribute some money to get the feasibility study going,' he said in an interview in Whitehorse last Thursday.

'But our bottom line is that we wouldn't do it over the backs of the natives or the environment.'

O'Connor is touring the North on a fact-finding mission.

His visit came in the wake of the new campaign-style advertising scheme aimed at getting Canadians to 'Stand Up for Canada.'

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and several of his caucus members have been spending the summer doing a cross-Canada tour trying to gain support for the party's platform. It's becoming increasingly likely a federal election will be held in early 2006 following December's scheduled release of the Gomery report on the Quebec sponsorship inquiry.

O'Connor's trip is focusing on maintaining Canadian sovereignty in the North. He's meeting with Canadian Rangers and military posts to hear their suggestions.

'I wanted to go through the North, because the defence policy we've developed has a big emphasis on sovereignty and security,' he told the Star.

'I wanted to get up to the North to make sure our strategies are practical. It's one thing to sit in Ottawa and make up these sort of dreams about the North and it's good to actually see the North.'

Improving sovereignty in the North is important because of how it will affect boundaries and resources available in Canadian waters and territory, he added.

'We have to start imposing our sovereignty now,' he said, referencing current disputes with the U.S., Russia and the Netherlands regarding the Panhandle, the Continental Shelf and Hans Island.

He also has concerns about the Northwest Passage.

'The other big issue is that as the ice keeps moving north, the Northwest Passage is going to open up in a way that ships can go through. International law says a country is sovereign 12 miles from their coast.

'If you look at the Northwest Passage, through the entire passage it's more than 24 miles wide, which means that some countries would argue that if they go in the middle they're in international water, which means they could pollute. They could traverse back and forth without our permission.'

O'Connor said maintaining sovereignty could be accomplished through an increase of Ranger patrols and satellite surveillance.

The federal government has just announced a plan to purchase $400 million of Arctic imagery from MacDonald Dettwiler Associates, which will also launch the Radarsat 2 polar orbiter next summer.

The new satellite will operate over the next seven years and will pass across the North Pole 14 times daily while recording images.

A Conservative government would substantially boost the defence budget and increase the size of the Canadian Forces, said O'Connor.

'Along with the manpower increases, the extra money will allow us to buy the equipment we need to impose our sovereignty from a military point of view and our security.'

Despite O'Connor's interest in sovereignty and the North, he seemed unfamiliar with the Northern Strategy. Beyond focusing on security, the Strategy also looks at creating partnerships in economic development, protecting the environment, and promoting culture and northern research.

However, he said the Conservatives would continue to fund the strategy if they were to form government.

The population base in the territories is not self-sustaining, said O'Connor, and it's important to continue with the Northern Strategy.

The territories should also be benefiting for the taxes on resources, he said.

'We would prefer to have you get the tax revenue from resources rather then the feds.'

The Conservatives would also consider the Mackenzie Valley pipeline and Alaska Highway pipeline and negotiating Ballistic Missile Defence with the Americans, he said.

'As long as the native and the environmental issues are resolved,' he added. 'We will not ram this through over the native and environmental issues.'

In the meantime, O'Connor said increasing Ranger patrols seems like the most sensible way to deal with sovereignty in the North.

'I don't know what's basically holding it back. Maybe it's money, maybe it's the number of Rangers they have,' he said.

'We're talking about relatively small amounts of money. If we can get more patrols out into the North, that's going to help with our sovereignty.

'It's not like building a railroad; it's a lot cheaper.'