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Arctic Yearbook 2013
Myers
majority of Canadian people identify themselves as an Arctic Nation. The Canadian federal Arctic
Strategy was developed in close coordination with people that live in the Arctic.
Conversely, the U.S. federal government has several agencies looking at Arctic issues but no one
agency coordinating the federal strategy. Also, the majority of U.S. citizens do not identify the U.S.
as an Arctic Nation. In comparison to other Arctic nations and even non-Arctic countries that want
to do business in the region it has been noticeable in how little the U.S. invests federal dollars in the
Arctic for search and rescue, icebreakers, and environmental protection. At a recent PNWER
meeting, Alaska‘s U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski spoke to the PNWER delegates and stated: ―we in
Alaska recognize that we [U.S.] are an Arctic nation, but it‘s tough to get that recognition from some
of our colleagues in other states. The senators from Iowa don‘t necessarily think that they are in an
Arctic nation, but they are by virtue of the state of Alaska.‖
The Senator went on to say, ―the disconnect between the interest of the United States in investing in
the Arctic compared to other nations was made all the more clear at a recent Arctic Council meeting
in Sweden. While other nations with no Arctic coastline but plenty of interest jockeyed for a place as
observers to the Council take action, the United States was only just putting forth a policy for future
investment in the region.‖
The Canadian government has called for the development of a Circumpolar Business Forum, which
has been initially identified as an entity that will be a conduit for businesses to engage the Arctic
Council. This proposal by the Canadian government is a movement towards increasing the
discussion about how to improve the lives of citizens in the Arctic through sustainable economic
development, recognizing that the private sector needs to be at the table in some of the policy
discussions.
As opportunities emerge for private sector engagement, the PNWER Arctic Caucus will continue to
bring the state and territorial governments together with the private sector and Aboriginal
communities to promote best practices for peoples of the North. The work of the Caucus will
highlight the strong partnership between the respective regional governments and bring people
together to communicate community interests and to influence policy. The objectives of the Arctic
Caucus are to:
· Increase the visibility and priority of Arctic issues in PNWER activities
· Build cross-jurisdictional support to achieve shared goals
· Identify areas of opportunity for mutual sustainable economic development in the Arctic
· Provide support to member jurisdictions to help them achieve their individual goals
Alaska, Yukon and the Northwest Territories can be viewed as a network of communities with
interests and priorities vital to the well-being of the people that live and work in the region. As the
Arctic becomes more of a focus for development, collaboration is an essential component for those
who live in the Arctic and everyone who does, or desires to do, business in the North. It is also
important to ensure that any development in the North is done with the highest environmental
practices and is supported by the people that live there. In some cases, research done in the North
has not been shared with the residents who live there. The Caucus will encourage new research in