NUNAVUT - This spring's military sovereignty exercise in the North will test the feasibility of having a group rapidly respond to safety and security emergencies in the Arctic.

Joint Task Force North's Rapid Reaction Force North, a concept the Canadian military is developing, will be tested for the first time during Operation Nunalivut '11, one of three annual operations conducted yearly by Joint Task Force North.

The group that includes about 50 Canadian Rangers under JTFN command was developed to respond faster if an incident happens in the North, said Lt. Col. Gino Chretien, JTFN's chief of operations.

"It's a group that's going to be deployed as fast as we can," he said. For us, we're trying to cover the gap, the timeline if we have to draw forces from the south going North. If we are able to deploy a bit faster from the headquarters here, we can have someone at the site a little bit earlier so that we can offer help."

From April 6 to 22, about 200 Canadian Forces personnel from the Canadian Rangers, the army and the air force will also conduct sovereignty exercises between Resolute and Isachsen, an uninhabited weather station 500 kilometres north of Resolute on the western shore of Ellef Ringnes Island.

Establishing a presence in that area is important, said Chretien.

"We always find some scientist working over there or adventurers," he said. "It's always good and nice to get in touch with those ... over there. They can see we are still operating in that part of the North."

He added they will test the communication systems and assess how operations can be improved. Chretien said a number of search and rescue technicians will be embedded with the patrols.

"It gives them a bit more training on how to operate in those conditions over there. That's going to give us also a bit more robust security with the patrols," he said.

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