Inuvik - This past week has been a busy one for Dennis Bevington.

The member of parliament for the Western Arctic spent the weekend in Inuvik, meeting with people.

Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington had to deal with a fresh snowfall while he was in town earlier this week to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony. He also spent some time talking with residents about his latest work in Ottawa. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

"I was invited to town for the Remembrance Day ceremony," said Bevington.

"I also did some constituency work while I was in town."

He added that he doesn't get many opportunities to travel to Inuvik, but enjoys the time spent here.

After a quick cup of coffee on Monday morning, Bevington was off to the airport to catch a series of planes that would take him to a Tuesday morning meeting on Parliament Hill.

On Wednesday, Bevington was scheduled to hold a press conference dealing with Northern sovereignty issues.

"The present government is failing to move ahead with their promises," he said.

"They need to be regulating ship traffic in the Arctic."

He added that the Arctic region needs to be explored and used by Canada.

"It's an unsettled area in this world," he said.

"We've got countries that are now actively mapping the sea bed."

Bevington said Russia is one of the nations examining its legal claim to the waters near the North Pole.

He is also concerned that the Northwest Passage is becoming open to ship traffic.

"That is a concern to Canada, they are our territorial waters," he said.

"We feel that they are our waters, and not international."

Bevington said the United States has declared the Northwest Passage to be international waters, but he disagrees.

"We have some diplomatic issues with the United States about this," he said.

When it comes to an increased military presence in the North, Bevington said he agrees with the Conservative government's pledge to increase the number of Canadian Rangers.

"We feel upgrading the Rangers is a good idea," he said.

He said from what he gathered from residents in Inuvik, it's apparent that people see an increase in military activity.

"The Forward Operating Location has been operational and manned for some time now," he said.

"These are our bases that we established many years ago, it's good to see them being utilized."

As for responses to any possible threat, Bevington said that is at the discretion of the government.

"If they feel there is a reason to use the equipment we have here, then I fully support them of course," he said.

Last year, Bevington worked to change the Canadian motto "A mari usque ad mare" which means "From sea to sea" in Latin. He wished to add a third sea, to represent the Arctic Ocean.

"I got some heat for that, but I feel vindicated with the Russians simply planting a flag in the ocean," said Bevington.

"We do need symbolic gestures to show that we are really going to stand up here."