Patrick Borbey is the Chair of the Arctic Council‘s Senior Arctic Officials (SAO) for the Canadian
Chairmanship from 2013-2015. He is also the President of the Canadian Northern Development Agency
(CanNor).
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Commentary
The Arctic Council & Canada‟s Chairmanship
Patrick Borbey
On May 15, 2013, at the Ministerial Meeting in Kiruna, Sweden, Canada assumed the two-year
Chairmanship of the Arctic Council for the second time since its creation in 1996.
More than four million people call the Arctic region home. In developing initiatives to bring to the
Council for consensus decision, the Government of Canada consulted with Northerners and with its
Arctic partners. A clear message was that the people of the North should be at the centre of the
Arctic Council‘s priorities.
The theme for Canada‘s Chairmanship is ―Development for the People of the North,‖ with three
sub-themes to guide the Council‘s work: ―Responsible Arctic Resource Development,‖ ―Safe Arctic
Shipping,‖ and ―Sustainable Circumpolar Communities.‖ Inspired by these themes, Ministers in
Kiruna endorsed the following new initiatives.
Circumpolar Business Forum
The business community is increasingly looking to the circumpolar region to build diversified
commercial relationships. There is a great deal of interest within the Council to increase the focus of
its work on sustainable economic development. This is why Ministers at Kiruna established a new
Task Force that will work with business to create a Circumpolar Business Forum.
The goals of the Forum include bringing circumpolar business perspectives to the work of the
Council, advancing Arctic-oriented business interests, sharing best practices and developing closer
cooperation. The initial focus of the Forum will be on extractive industries and related sectors, such
as shipping and infrastructure.