Layton Says Canada Should Do More To Protect Arctic Sovereignty

Layton criticized the government's decision to buy up to eight medium ice-strengthened military patrol vessels, instead of three heavy ice-breakers it promised during the last election, saying it is "misguided." "Canada must move quickly to make immediate, strategic investments in its Arctic and recognize that the greatest challenges in the North are social, economic and environmental," said Layton. Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said the NDP is "just plain wrong" when it claims that Canada is not exercising its legitimate rights in the Arctic. The Russian mission to the North Pole has done nothing to affect Canada's claims over the Arctic, MacKay said in a statement. "Canada's sovereignty over our arctic region is rooted in an historic connection to the land, its continued habitation by the Inuit people and our constant assertion of our sovereign claims." http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/08/05/4395965-cp.html [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on August 7, 2007]

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