Hon. Tony Loffreda: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, I would like to explore the issue of Canada’s Arctic with you. The government has made strengthening “Canada’s domain awareness, surveillance, and control capabilities in the Arctic and the North” a key objective of its Arctic and Northern Policy Framework. Yet, last month, the Auditor General tabled a report in which she called on four federal departments to take concrete actions to address the inability to track vessels continuously and to identify non-emitting vessels in the region.

We all know how important protecting, monitoring and defending the Arctic is for Canada’s current and future prosperity. In response to Ms. Hogan’s report, what concrete actions is the government willing to take to prevent unauthorized access to our waters, to adequately track vessel traffic and to ensure we have the proper equipment to monitor maritime activities?

Senator Loffreda: Thank you for that reassurance, Senator Gold.

In a column published last week, Stephen Van Dine wrote that:

. . . Canada’s influence at that table —

— that of the Arctic Council, which was created in 1996 in Ottawa —

— has begun to wane, especially in comparison to financial commitments made by other nations including Norway and Denmark as well as the United States and Russia.

We know that Canada has made important investments and commitments to addressing domestic issues for northern residents and Indigenous peoples in the Arctic, but with the increasing traffic in the region and the interests of other nations in this part of the world, I feel that Canada needs to do more to reestablish itself as an Arctic powerhouse. We need to take this issue more seriously.

What is the government doing to advance and protect our foreign interests in the region?