Press Releases Re-Affirming Sovereignty. CTV.Ca

"One of the responsibilities of government is to protect the sovereignty of the land -- to ensure that the sovereignty of land is going to be there for generations of Inuit and Canadians to come," the prime minister told residents at a high school gymnasium on Wednesday. "I, too, am concerned about those who would challenge our sovereignty over the Arctic." Canadian control of the region has come into focus as climate change opens up possibilities for Arctic shipping and resource development. A diplomatic flap also surfaced last year after a news report said Danes had placed their flag on Hans Island, an isolated island midway between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. Both Canada and Denmark claim sovereignty over the 1.3-square-kilometre island, roughly 1,100 kilometres south of the North Pole. Denmark believes it's part of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. The Danish military patrols northern Greenland to maintain a presence in the vast Arctic area. The prime minister's declaration Wednesday came as Canadian troops geared up for a military exercise in the Arctic. More than 200 sailors aboard the frigate HMCS Montreal will be on a three-week deployment in the region. They will be joined in the exercise called Operation Narwhal by 160 troops from the Royal Canadian Regiment and Canadian Rangers from Nunavut. Martin lauded a group of Arctic Rangers who greeted him at the dusty airstrip where his plane landed, saying their patrol work is crucial in maintaining Canadian sovereignty over the region. "These are the very men and women who are at the very forefront of the protection of our sovereignty and have been for generations," he said. "I just want to say to those of you in this room who are Rangers, on behalf of all Canadians, how grateful we are to you." The Rangers are aboriginals who have patrolled with snowmobiles and vintage Lee Enfield rifles from northern Ontario to the magnetic North Pole and are Canada's primary military presence in the North. The prime minister later donned a red survival suit and hopped onto a boat that carried him for a tour in the choppy, frigid waters off Pond Inlet. He noted the wild beauty of the landscape and suggested the economically depressed region could receive a boost if Canada taps into its potential for tourism. "Over the generations to come, Pond Inlet, with all of its huge beauty, is going to become in my opinion known all over the world," he said. "We are here in a land that is ageless. A land that has been occupied by a great people since time immemorial. . . . It is a wonderful thing to see a living history." The prime minister completed the second day of his five-day Northern tour -- his first visit to the region since taking office in December. He planned to sit with the premiers of all three territories in meetings expected to focus on health-care funding, regional development and the potential transfer of powers to territorial governments. But Martin offered few hints of what he will propose to the premiers. He said he agreed that more funding was required for housing, and also said he has always believed in handing greater responsibility to the territories. But he provided no details.