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Aglukkaq News

25 Apr 2015

Arctic Nations to Fight Climate Change Despite Russia Tensions

The eight Arctic Council nations pledged on Friday to do more to combat climate change that is shrinking the vast frigid region, with countries trying to put aside disputes over issues like Russia's intervention in Ukraine. Meeting in the Canadian town of Iqaluit, 300 km (200 miles) south of the Arctic Circle, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States pledged to work to address emissions of black carbon and methane. Both are seen as particularly harmful to the Arctic, whose sea ice this year was the smallest in winter since satellite records began in 1979, according to U.S. data. The region is warming at twice the rate of other parts of the globe…

04 Apr 2015

Canada Passed on U.S.-Mexico Climate Announcement

Canada declined a U.S. invitation last week to jointly announce climate policy cooperation with Mexico, with Ottawa saying it has not yet finalized its own domestic strategy, sources from both countries familiar with the discussions said on Thursday. On March 24, three days before the United States and Mexico announced they would partner on a high-level bilateral clean energy and climate policy task force, U.S. officials approached Canadian counterparts asking them to join the effort, three sources said. One source said that while Canadian officials said they were supportive of North American harmonization of climate policy they were not yet prepared to join the continental partners.

07 Nov 2014

Bell Recovered from Wreck of HMS Erebus

The detached ship’s bell of HMS Erebus as found on the deck next to the windlass. Note the embossed ‘broad arrow’ British government property mark, and the embossed date 1845. (© Parks Canada / Thierry Boyer)

The ship's bell recovered from the recently discovered Franklin Expedition shipwreck, HMS Erebus, was unveiled by the Honorable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada. The artifact was recovered during dives and archaeological investigation by Parks Canada's underwater archaeology team in September. The bell was found on the deck adjacent to the ship's displaced windlass (a form of anchor winch), above which it was originally mounted. Since then, the bell has been undergoing conservation stabilization and additional research.

07 Oct 2014

Canada to Miss 2020 Emissions-cut Target

Canada is set to badly miss a 2020 target for cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, in part because of its failure to regulate the booming oil and gas sector, Parliament's environmental watchdog said on Tuesday. The scathing report by Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand will add to the political challenges faced by the right-leaning Conservative government, which polls show could lose power in an election set for 2015. The government has deep political roots in energy-rich Western Canada - home to the Alberta tar sands - and says it will do nothing to harm economic development. Gelfand found Ottawa did not even have a plan for how it would meet a commitment under the 2009 Copenhagen Accord to cut emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

11 Aug 2014

Canada Launches Surveys Prior to Arctic Shelf Claims

The Canadian Government informs that  David Wells, Senator for Newfoundland and Labrador witnessed the departure of the 'CCGS Terry Fox' from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, as it headed out on a six-week scientific survey to collect data needed for Canada’s Arctic continental shelf submission. It will be joined by the 'CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent', which departs from the same location tomorrow. A second survey, to collect additional data, will be conducted in 2015. “As demonstrated by these planned surveys, our government is committing the resources necessary to ensure that Canada secures international recognition of the full extent of its continental shelf, including the North Pole,” said Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. The CCGS Terry Fox will break ice so that the CCGS Louis S.

23 Jun 2014

Canada Announces Franklin Search, 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition:

The Govermnent of Canada announces that with an unprecedented number of organizations from the public, private and non-profit sectors it will partner together, using state-of-the-art technology, to locate the historic ships of the ill-fated 1845 Franklin Expedition. The 2014 Franklin Expedition will also have the added benefit of furthering our knowledge in a number of priority areas, including through the collection of important scientific information about Canada's most remote region. Government partners for the 2014 Victoria Strait expedition include Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Navy…

16 Apr 2014

Canada Opts Out of Arctic Council Meeting

File image

Canadian Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq stated that a principled stand had been taken by Ottawa against Moscow's intervention in events in Ukraine, reports Russian official news agency Arctic-Info. A statement from the Minister stated that Canada will not be attending working-group level meetings in Moscow this week, but will continue to support the important work of the Arctic Council. Prime Minister Stephen Harper had previously ordered the suspension of all bilateral contacts between the Canadian armed forces and the Russian military.

10 Jun 2013

Arctic Council Taking Regional Development Reins

Arctic Summer Ice: Photo courtesy of NOAA

What was once a small group meeting to discuss scientific & technical cooperation has grown into a forum in which legally binding agreements between states are brokered. In the 16 years since the creation of the Arctic Council, both the physical environment of the Arctic and the level of international attention paid to this once-obscure forum have changed dramatically. At the Council's latest meeting in mid-May, in Kiruna, Sweden, ministers added new international observers, bolstered the Council's governance capacity and agreed on a common vision for the next 16 years…

04 Feb 2009

CA Protects Sovereignty & Safeguards Arctic

Canada's Transport Minister, John Baird, introduced legislation in the House of Commons on Jan. 28 to enhance Canada's sovereignty over Arctic waters and protect them from pollution. This coverage will give Canada greater and more effective control over marine activity in the Canadian Arctic while enhancing environmental protection in Canada's North. This marks an important step forward in the federal government's integrated Northern Strategy. "Our government is taking action to promote economic development while demanding environmental responsibility in Canada's North," said Minister Baird. "Our government will do all we can to protect Canada's Arctic heritage and sovereignty.

05 Dec 2008

Canada Further Protects Arctic Waters

Canada’s Transport Minister, John Baird, today introduced legislation in the House of Commons to enhance Canada’s sovereignty over Arctic waters and protect them from pollution. This coverage will give Canada greater and more effective control over marine activity in the Canadian Arctic while enhancing environmental protection in Canada's North. This marks an important step forward in the federal government's integrated Northern Strategy. “Our government is committed to promoting economic development while demanding environmental responsibility in Canada’s North,” said Minister Baird. “Our government will do all we can to protect Canada's Arctic heritage and sovereignty.