Northern Operation Nanook 09: Sovereignty!!!

As I ended a post on Operation Nanook 08:

...
People still need to be reminded that, Hans Island aside, none of our land in the north is under any dispute. The government's emphasis on a physical military presence on the land really is in many ways just grandstanding. The real dispute (sea-bed aside) is over the status of the Northwest Passage--and I believe the Canadian Coast Guard, not the Navy, is best placed to assert our claim that it is a sovereign internal waterway (a claim that may be dubious under international law). More on the CCG role here.

But the government keeps on banging the drum and everything else it can:

Canada Details Premier Annual Northern Sovereignty Operation
NR 09.05 - August 7, 2009

YELLOWKNIFE, N.T. – From August 6 to 28, 2009, the Government of Canada will conduct a sovereignty operation, the Canadian Forces’ Operation NANOOK 09, in the eastern Arctic. This operation will see the CF demonstrate a visible presence with land, sea and air forces operating in the Baffin Island region. It will include sovereignty patrols, a military exercise, and a whole-of-government exercise designed to demonstrate Canada’s ability to operate in the North.

“The presence in our North of the Canadian Forces and other departments shows our Government’s commitment to protecting and demonstrating control over the air, land and sea within our jurisdiction, and responding to emergencies in support of the territorial government,” said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway.

This year’s operation will include an anti-submarine warfare exercise with Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Toronto and Glace Bay, and HMCS Corner Brook, one of Canada’s four Victoria-class submarines. Land forces, comprised of Canadian Rangers and the Arctic Reserve Company Group from Ontario, will also deploy forward with the Navy and in Canadian Coast Guard Ship Pierre Radisson. The Air Force will be flying the CP-140 Aurora, CH-124 Sea King, CC-138 Twin Otter, CF-18 Hornet, CC-130 Hercules aircraft, while Transport Canada will be flying the Dash-7 throughout the exercise. Following the military exercise, government agencies will turn their attention to supporting Nunavut’s Emergency Management Organization in their own exercise to test emergency preparedness in response to a critical infrastructure failure.

“Operation NANOOK 09 presents an ideal opportunity to validate and improve upon our collective capabilities to operate effectively in our North,” said General Walt Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff.

-30-

Note to Editors:

Video b-roll collected last year, and this year between 17-24 Aug 09, will be available from the Combat Camera FTP site at: www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca/common/combatcamera/news

Still imagery will be available to media and the general public from the Combat Camera website at: www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca

For more information, please contact:
Lieutenant (Navy) Jordan Holder, Public Affairs Officer Joint Task Force North,
Phone: (867) 873-0700, ext 6005, Fax: (867) 766-6803, Cell: (867) 445-4060,

Or:

Summer Halliday, Public Affairs Advisor JTFN,
Phone: (867) 873-0700, ext 6922, Fax: (867) 766-6803, Cell: (867) 765-8624.

[Lots more at official Backgrounder here]

Nice photo:

August 4, 2009 - HMCS Toronto departs from St. John's, Newfoundland, on its way to Iqaluit, Nunavut.

The Canadian Forces (CF) conducts annual operations with other federal and territorial government departments (OGD) and agencies (OGA) to improve coordination in responding to emergencies in the north and to make a visible demonstration of our commitment to exercising and defending Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic. OP NANOOK is comprised of both an exercise portion (EX NANOOK) as well as a real-world operational component.

Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Toronto is on deployment to OP NANOOK from 29 July to 28 August 2009.

Photo: Corporal Dany Veillette, Canadian Forces Joint Imagery Centre, Ottawa

Any maybe there'll be some sub-banging (hah!):

Canada plans anti-sub exercises in Arctic


HMCS Fredericton at anchor in Frobisher Bay near the city of Iqaluit, Nunavut. The Canadian military will conduct 'anti-submarine warfare' exercises during its annual Arctic sovereignty operation, which begins this week near Baffin Island.
Photograph by: Handout, Corporal Evan Kuelz

Just a month after two nuclear-powered Russian subs cracked through sea ice near the North Pole to test-fire two long-range missiles, the Canadian military will conduct "anti-submarine warfare" exercises during its annual Arctic sovereignty operation, which began this week near Baffin Island.

The massive training mission, involving some 700 personnel from the Canadian Forces and a host of federal and territorial agencies, will also feature a simulated security emergency involving a "suspected downed unmanned aerial vehicle."

Details about the Canadian Forces' three-week "Nanook 09" operation were released Friday [Aug. 7] at a Halifax press conference hosted by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, who last week voiced concerns about a planned Russian paratrooper drop at the North Pole, scheduled for next spring to mark the anniversary of a Cold War parachute jump by two Soviet scientists.

MacKay described the Nanook operation as "an effort, in practical terms, to co-ordinate what we're doing to prepare for the inevitable" — including increased Arctic ship traffic and future health or environmental emergencies.

"At the same time," he said, the operation is intended "to very clearly send a message, and to announce with authority, that we intend to use the Arctic, that it's part of our country — an important part of our country — and that our presence there is going to continue to expand."..

More posts relevant to the "Arctic sovereignty" hoo-hah:

The Louis sails on...and on...and on

Canadian Coast Guard for the North, not Navy

More northern stuff:

...
Canadian defence and security: Northern Strategy

The Government has released its Northern Strategy, available at the link below.
http://www.northernstrategy.ca/

Rob Huebert for the Ottawa Citizen and Whitney Lackenbauer for the Toronto Star evaluate the strategy and the government’s commitment to it. The two authors have also published papers with the Canadian International Council – Rob Huebert has written, “Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and Security in a Transforming Circumpolar World”, and Whitney Lackenbauer, "From Polar Race to Polar Saga: An Integrated Strategy for Canada and the Circumpolar World.”
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/todays-paper/have+Arctic+strategy/1839397/s...
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/673139
http://www.canadianinternationalcouncil.org/download/resourcece/archives/fore...
http://www.canadianinternationalcouncil.org/download/resourcece/archives/fore...

CBC reports on comments by academic and former NDP electoral candidate Michael Byers on this strategy [more on the Prof. here].
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/07/28/north-strategy-reax.html

LCol Paul Dittman for the Journal of Military and Strategic Studies has written an article entitled, “In defence of defence: Canadian Arctic sovereignty and security.”
http://www.jmss.org/2009/spring/articles/dittmann-spring2009.pdf

Geoffrey Simpson for the Globe and Mail examines the government’s Northern Strategy and its commitment to the North in general.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/its-an-arctic-policy-worth-build...

The CDA reminds its readers of the 2007 Vimy Paper published by the CDA Institute, “Defence Requirements for Canada’s Arctic,” available at the link below.
http://www.cda-cdai.ca/cdai/vimy-papers ...

Finally, a politically-driven fairy tale:

Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships: Neverer land still