Canada’s Arctic defence must be taken seriously
This month, Canada’s largest annual Arctic sovereignty exercise (Nanook 2017) will take place in Nunavut and Labrador.
As with every sovereignty exercise, the Canadian Rangers, our so-called “Arctic soldiers,” will be touted by the Armed Forces and government as the permanent military symbol of Canada’s determination to assert its sovereignty in the region.
This is not far from reality since, apart from a tiny shell of administrative, technical and aviation support staff, the Rangers are our only permanent military presence in the North.
But just how secure should we feel knowing our Rangers are on duty? Dispense with the standard cheesy accolades and one can see that, operationally, the Rangers are not much more than a public affairs ruse aimed at placating Canadians into believing that Canada is taking Arctic defence seriously.
Granted, the Canadian Rangers do occasionally assist in search and rescue and may provide other needed public assistance in their communities. But place our Rangers under an operational military lens and all one sees is a network of parttime auxiliaries.
Canadian Ranger recruits receive 10 days military training. They do not have a uniform and are usually required to supply their own snowmobiles when on patrol.
It should not come as a surprise that Canadian Rangers are in no way expected to go into military combat. As each Rangers unit is allotted about 12 days of paid employment for the year, we can hardly expect them to provide any systematic sovereignty patrol in the Arctic.
And when it comes to weaponry, Rangers are armed with museumworthy Second World War rifles — though these rifles are finally being replaced, after 70 years.
By placing minimally trained, noncombat, part-time auxiliaries as the symbol of Canadian resolve to assert our sovereignty, we are saying Arctic sovereignty is not a responsibility we are willing to take seriously.
Otherwise we would be doing what the Danes, Norwegians, Finns, Swedes, Russians and Americans have been doing for decades. That is, maintain full-time, well equipped, professional and specialized “boots in the snow” ready to assert and defend their Arctic sovereignty.
By way of comparison, Denmark, Canada’s eastern Arctic neighbour, is tasked with defending its territory of Greenland.
Denmark’s vision of Arctic sovereignty involves a specially trained and equipped regular military unit. Members of the Danish Forces go through a six- to eightmonth training process in areas such as winter survival, demolition, reconnaissance and first aid.
Once deployed, they are expected to be able to operate in small independent teams in extreme cold for long periods of time.
Similar contrasts can be made with Norway’s Sor-Varanger garrison, which continually patrols that country’s 196-kilometre remote border with Russia.
Likewise lacking among our Canadian Rangers is the intense winter warfare training and modern military equipment seen in Sweden’s Norrbotten Regiment or Finland’s famed Jaeger Brigade, both of which stand guard above the Arctic Circle.
These Scandinavian Arctic defenders are trained combat soldiers who do not have to provide their own snowmobiles and their uniforms go beyond ball caps and sweatshirts.
Regardless of how our Canadian Rangers might compare, they deserve our utmost respect and support. Why? Because they are exactly the kind of defence we Canadians think we deserve in the North.