Iqaluit (May 22/06) - The Canadian Forces plans to strengthen its presence in North, but with better training and equipment - not necessarily more boots on the ground.

Norm Couturier, chair of the Arctic Security Interdepartmental Working Group, said the military is looking to expand its surveillance and search and rescue capabilities in the North. - Chris Windeyer/NNSL photo

The Arctic Security Interdepartmental Working Group meets twice a year to co-ordinate the Northern activities of the military and other government departments.

Soldiers and bureaucrats rubbed shoulders in Iqaluit last week.

Col. Norm Couturier, chair of the working group and commander of Joint Task Force North based out of Yellowknife, said the meeting is a chance to lay the groundwork for increased surveillance in the North and large-scale military exercises this summer and in 2007.

Those exercises are key to fulfilling the military's plans for the North, Couturier said. "Plans are good, but plans are no good if they have not been validated," he told reporters Wednesday.

The federal Conservatives talked about increasing the military's presence in the Arctic upon coming to power in January, but didn't announce plans to establish a Northern military base in this month's budget as some observers expected.

Couturier said it remains to be seen whether the government will ever build a Northern base.

Instead, the military will rely on the Polar Epsilon satellite, scheduled to be launched next year, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which should be in service in three to four years.

The forces plan to expand their presence by five or six people based out of Iqaluit, who would work with other government agencies.

Couturier said the military is also investing in more training and equipment for the Canadian Rangers, on whom the Forces rely for their work in the North.

The Rangers, Couturier said, are good at what he called "predator control," and know the land and weather.