News | Climate Change

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Arctic+climate+change+crucial+foreign+policy+issue+being+ignored+foreign+minister/4618844/story.html

Arctic climate change is one of the most crucial foreign and environmental policy issues facing Canada, but it has largely been ignored by all parties in the current federal election, says former foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Winnipeg, speaking at a Toronto event to discuss a report on Arctic climate change released this week by U.S.-based Aspen Institute.

"As Canadians once again go to the polls to choose a new Parliament, the future of the Arctic needs to be part of the election debate. So far, no one is talking about it," said Axworthy, who served on the Aspen Institute's commission on Arctic climate change.
"With the implications of climate change on the Arctic ecosystem, for indigenous and northern communities or for Canada's sovereignty, the Arctic will be one of Canada's most important foreign policy priorities in the 21st century. Canadians need to know where all of their political parties stand on this critical issue."
Axworthy said that while the Harper government should be credited for making Canada's North a priority, there are still many outstanding questions that need to be debated in the federal election.
These include questions regarding multilateral co-operation, the role of aboriginal peoples, and rules to ensure that economic development, transportation and trade do not put the Arctic region at risk.
Axworthy also called on the next federal government to designate the Arctic region as "a national gateway and corridor."
The Aspen Commission's report and recommendations offers a road map for Canada and all Arctic nations to move forward, he said Thursday in a news release from the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation.
Aboriginal peoples also need to be recognized as leaders in shaping the future of the Arctic region, said former Inuit Circumpolar Council president and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Sheila Watt-Cloutier.
"When we come together to holistically consider the impacts of climate change on human communities, ecosystems and economies, we can agree to changes that centre our considerations on our shared humanity."