Adam Johnson
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 19, 2007

OTTAWA - As dreams of a Northwest Passage become reality, Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington says the Harper government isn't doing enough to protect Northern waters.

Dennis Bevington: Says Conservatives need to make registration of foreign vessels mandatory

In a Nov. 13 press conference, Bevington - who also serves as the NDP's Arctic sovereignty critic - said the Conservatives have not followed through on their election promise to make it mandatory for foreign ships to register with the Canadian Coast Guard before travelling the passage.

"It's mandatory to register before entering our waters off the East and West Coasts, why not the Arctic?" Bevington asked.

At present, NORDREG - the Coast Guard system by which foreign ships are registered in the North, - is voluntary.

In a following press release titled "Harper a hypocrite on Arctic sovereignty," Bevington quoted a Harper campaign promise to "require (foreign ships) to ask our consent to traverse our waters."

During his whirlwind visit to the North this summer, Harper announced a deep-water port in Nanisivik, Nunavut, as part of a series of initiatives to ramp up the Canadian presence in the Arctic.

"Taken together, the creation of the Canadian Forces Arctic Training Centre, the expansion and modernization of the Canadian Rangers and the development of Port Nanisivik will significantly strengthen Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic," Harper said at the time.

Bevington said control over the water was a "simple" step the government could take to assert better control over the Northwest Passage.

"This is immediate action that (the Conservatives) can take to enhance Arctic sovereignty," he said. "It only takes an act of cabinet to make this change."

"Mr. Harper can't blame anybody for slowing him down on this," Bevington said. "He hasn't taken that action, he should take that action right now."

Bevington said aside from asserting Arctic sovereignty, NORDREG is meant to prevent pollution of Northern waters by ships that may not meet Canadian standards.

"How can this system accomplish these goals when it's not mandatory?" Bevington asked.