Our North - SSE Policy Update Megathread

[GR66]

In terms of food security - it is probably easier to transfer the skills necessary to raise caribou and ptarmigan so that the locals can eat the meat their bodies are designed for than it is to teach their bodies how to eat Coco Puffs.

Importing, or even cultivating, carbohydrates that the caribou, the geese and ptarmigan, or even some fish can exploit and convert into food that the Inuit need, to my mind, makes a lot of sense.

There is a lot of literature and practical knowledge available on domesticating animals like elk, reindeer, deer generally, geese, ducks, salmon and sheep. The musk ox is just a really big sheep.

Keep in mind that most Northern communities have extremely small populations. In Nunavut for example where the total population in the almost 2 million square km territory is just 41,000, Iqaluit has about 7,500 people and nothing else is over 3,000 people. If you're talking about significantly increasing infrastructure and resource extraction, etc. in the territory you're likely to see the population expand greatly...and these new people will primarily be Southerners who will have little interest in eating Inuit Country Foods.

 

[Kirkhill]

Keep in mind that most Northern communities have extremely small populations. In Nunavut for example where the total population in the almost 2 million square km territory is just 41,000, Iqaluit has about 7,500 people and nothing else is over 3,000 people. If you're talking about significantly increasing infrastructure and resource extraction, etc. in the territory you're likely to see the population expand greatly...and these new people will primarily be Southerners who will have little interest in eating Inuit Country Foods.

I agree. How many southern immigrants will the northern culture tolerate?

In the meantime two things are happening to the Inuit that echo historical trends.

1. The Inuit population is becoming more sedentary - they have to bring food to town rather than follow the food
2. The Inuit population is expanding - more people have to be supplied with food

And thus the conversion of the nomadic hunter to the farmer (skipping the nomadic pastoralist step).

 

[daftandbarmy]

Curious....how many young Inuit want to eat the same diet as their grandparents did? Might want to ask that question before you go and start dictating their menu choices. Genetic research is one thing...personal choice is another.

As I recall, the 'Northern stores' offered a pretty wide selection of Muktuk and other native meats. The local villages were also decorated with hundreds of drying arctic char hanging on lines, animal skins, and butchered seal and other game.

I'm thinking their traditional food choices aren't going to change much.

 

[Furniture]

As I recall, the 'Northern stores' offered a pretty wide selection of Muktuk and other native meats. The local villages were also decorated with hundreds of drying arctic char hanging on lines, animal skins, and butchered seal and other game.

I'm thinking their traditional food choices aren't going to change much.

I think that the trends of young people moving out of the small communities runs counter to that narrative. In Ontario the Inuit population went from 100 in 1987 to over 3800 in 2017.

I suspect that the young Inuit aren't that much different from the rest of us, and want to enjoy the modern world and experience new things. I know I'd be pretty annoyed if a bunch of people in Ontario tried to force me to eat and live the same way my grandparents did back on PEI in the 1950s.

 

[dimsum]

I think that the trends of young people moving out of the small communities runs counter to that narrative. In Ontario the Inuit population went from 100 in 1987 to over 3800 in 2017.

I suspect that the young Inuit aren't that much different from the rest of us, and want to enjoy the modern world and experience new things. I know I'd be pretty annoyed if a bunch of people in Ontario tried to force me to eat and live the same way my grandparents did back on PEI in the 1950s.

I can’t remember which documentary I was watching, but what struck me was that the Inuit family in that episode was eating muktuk with soy sauce.

So while yes, it’s not a bad thing to know about traditional foods and methods, it’s not always “better back in the day”.

 

[dapaterson]

I think that the trends of young people moving out of the small communities runs counter to that narrative. In Ontario the Inuit population went from 100 in 1987 to over 3800 in 2017.

I suspect that the young Inuit aren't that much different from the rest of us, and want to enjoy the modern world and experience new things. I know I'd be pretty annoyed if a bunch of people in Ontario tried to force me to eat and live the same way my grandparents did back on PEI in the 1950s.

You don't look good in a red wig?

 

[lenaitch]

or even dwellings.

Yup. We should suggest that to them. That'll make us popular.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I can’t remember which documentary I was watching, but what struck me was that the Inuit family in that episode was eating muktuk with soy sauce.

So while yes, it’s not a bad thing to know about traditional foods and methods, it’s not always “better back in the day”.

There are pros and cons, of course:

Inuit cuisine​

Traditional Inuit diets derive approximately 50% of their calories from fat, 30–35% from protein and 15–20% of their calories from carbohydrates, largely in the form of glycogen from the raw meat they consumed. This high fat content provides valuable energy and prevents protein poisoning, which historically was sometimes a problem in late winter when game animals grew lean through winter starvation. It has been suggested that because the fats of the Inuit's wild-caught game are largely monounsaturated and rich in omega-3 fatty acids, the diet does not pose the same health risks as a typical Western high-fat diet. However, actual evidence has shown that Inuit have a similar prevalence of coronary artery disease as non-Inuit populations and they have excessive mortality due to cerebrovascular strokes, with twice the risk to that of the North American population. Indeed, the cardiovascular risk of this diet is so severe that the addition of a more standard American diet has reduced the incidence of mortality in the Inuit population. Furthermore, fish oil supplement studies have failed to support claims of preventing heart attacks or strokes.

Inuit cuisine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Underway]

Arctic policy update with CDA.

Overall good work to develop an appropriate Arctic policy, keep working on those negotiations and building relationships. This is a win for the Government of Canada. Now to fund and follow through.

 

[Kirkhill]

US "democratizing" military intelligence

'Never been done': Army to test out new integrated data layer on classified networks at Convergence - Breaking Defense

"We're pulling live data and then integrating it in all the different warfighting functions. So it's a pretty big, pretty big push,” Col. Matt Skaggs told Breaking Defense.

breakingdefense.com

US and Norway resolving High Arctic comms issues.

Eyes on the High North | Northrop Grumman

The remote, isolated Arctic gives the phrase “going dark” a whole new meaning.

www.northropgrumman.com

....

How are Canada's projects progressing?

Full spectrum communications in the Arctic - Canada.ca

The full spectrum communications in the Arctic challenge is seeking solutions to support and command when engaged in domestic and continental defence, security, and safety missions in the Arctic. This page includes all details regarding the specific challenge.

www.canada.ca

Enhanced Satellite Communication Project - Polar - Defence Capabilities Blueprint

Enhanced Satellite Communication Project - Polar - Defence Capabilities Blueprint

apps.forces.gc.ca

 

[Kirkhill]

More interest in the Arctic - the Arctic as a bargaining chip in Great Powers Competition
Allowing Russia and China to develop Arctic sea lanes in exchange for peace in Ukraine.

A. I don't like the thought of rewarding bad behaviour.
B. I don't like the thought of our interest in the Arctic being diluted by it becoming a United Nations issue, potentially.

Trump can leverage the Arctic to end Ukraine War

Russia and China want to trade in the Northern Sea Route. Consider it a bargaining chip that could benefit the West, too.

responsiblestatecraft.org

PS Responsible Statecraft I find to be almost always irresponsible. Not the first time it has published pro-Russian and Chinese articles.

....

Breaking the Naval Impasse on the U.S. Icebreaker Program | Center for International Maritime Security

cimsec.org

The Arctic, after all, is no longer just vast icebergs floating around like sentinels of death, surrounded by silence more oppressive than its cold—it is now a major geopolitical prize in the Great Power Competition between the United States, China, and Russia.

The Arctic has relevance to every facet of this struggle. Energy? The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that one-eighth of the world’s untapped oil reserves and one-third of its natural gas reserves lie in the Arctic. Trade? The Arctic’s three trade routes—the Northwest Passage (above Canada), the Northern Sea Route (above Russia), and the Central Arctic Route (between Iceland and the Bering Strait, through the North Pole)—will soon subsume a substantial share of shipping, by some accounts five percent of global maritime traffic in 2030 and with no sign of slowing down. Political-military risk? The Russian Navy’s elite Northern Fleet recently expanded its area-of-responsibility specifically to secure the Northern Sea Route, and China proclaimed itself a “near Arctic” state as it begins to establish a “Polar Silk Road” of influence and commerce in the region (“near” does a lot of work there). In fact, China and Russia are cooperating in the Arctic, as evidenced by their joint naval patrol near the U.S. Aleutian Islands in 2023.

The argument for Harry de Wolf.

The Great Power Competition in the Arctic will be won with icebreakers—highly specialized naval vessels capable of slicing directly through polar ice that would crush traditional ships and withstanding “storms that can ice over superstructures until ships become so top-heavy they capsize.” Currently, complete exploration, shipping, and patrol of the Arctic is impossible without them.

without an active icebreaker presence in the Arctic, the Navy is voluntarily denying itself full access to the Arctic leaving gaps for its adversaries—namely Russia and China, to aggressively expand and militarize their icebreaker presence.

“the navy of a superpower (any power) that aspires to protect commerce and international order globally has no responsible choice other than to pursue excellence virtually wherever military science takes it, however serendipitously.” Russia and China are actively moving the Great Power Competition to the Arctic: Russia is arming its icebreakers with anti-ship weapons and cruise missiles, both nations are regularly patrolling the Arctic seas with icebreakers, and heavily investing in nuclear technology for these vessels. While icebreakers are certainly necessary for the Coast Guard’s missions—including search and rescue, navigation, environmental protection, interdiction, and ice operations—Russia and China have embraced icebreakers as dual-use assets that squarely address the Navy’s purpose. Moreover, the Navy and Air Force’s existing submarine and aircraft presence in the Arctic is inadequate for the Great Power Competition. Submarines and aircraft alone cannot “clear a path for critical shipping, respond to oil spills, or conduct maritime safety and security boardings in the U.S. Arctic”—let alone accomplish more strategic goals of sea control and power projection in the region.

....

This summer, the United States recently signed the ICE Pact with Finland and Canada to build seventy to ninety new icebreakers over the next decade. While this agreement will help expand America’s icebreaker fleet, it relies on Finland—which can build a polar-class vessel in two years at just 25 percent of the cost of in America (or Canada?) —to handle construction. This outsourcing is, frankly, an embarrassment.

Aker Arctic | The Ice Technology Partner

Aker Arctic is a private company that develops designs and related solutions powered by state-of-art technology. Our goal is to help customers better succeed in the world´s ice covered regions.

akerarctic.fi

Aker Arctic - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

STX Finland - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Curiously Aker is related to Seaspan, the Svalbard and thus the HdW, the Finnish Double Acting Tankers, Kvaerner and STX which had Korean interests that assisted Seaspan in upgrading their yards. The Aker shipyard in Philadelphia has also just been sold to Hanwha, supplier of submarines to the RCN, potentially.

Hanwha closes $100M deal to take over Philly Shipyard - Breaking Defense

The deal is part of a series of aggressive moves Hanwha has taken to solidify its presence in the American defense industrial base this year.

breakingdefense.com

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Part of the reason the Arctic was inhospitable to ships, was due to the size and horsepower of previous ships. It really was not till the 1960's that you saw really powerful icebreakers that could operate much later in the season. Even now using the PC ice class rating, there is 1x PC2 (with 4 more planned, 2 Canadian) and no PC1 icebreakers. There are only 8x PC3. There are 7x PC 4 with Canada planning 16 more.