YELLOWKNIFE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES--(Marketwire - March 27, 2008) - From late March to mid-April, the Canadian Forces will conduct Operation NUNALIVUT 08, a joint sovereignty operation in Canada's High Arctic. This year's operation will include air surveillance and Canadian Rangers patrols along the west coast of Ellesmere Island between Eureka and Canadian Forces Station Alert, which is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world. All of the patrols will then meet back in Eureka on April 13.

In addition to projecting sovereignty in this remote region of Canada, this year's operation will assist International Polar Year scientists to conduct research on the Ellesmere Island ice shelves.

"This Government is committed to protecting Canada's security and asserting our sovereignty in the North. Operation NUNALIVUT is but one example of how the Canadian Forces are contributing to this goal," said the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

"The Canadian Rangers are important partners in protecting Canada and asserting its sovereignty in the North, which is why the Government is increasing the size of the Rangers from 4,100 to 5,000 this year," the minister added.

Operation NUNALIVUT 08, which means "land that is ours," is one of three joint sovereignty operations conducted every year by the CF in Canada's North. This operation will be conducted with the participation of the Canadian Rangers and the Air Force, under the command of Joint Task Force (North) (JTFN)...

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