PM cedes Arctic to Putin

Re Leaders clash sharply in foreign policy debate,

Sept. 29 A bold Stephen Harper, announcing a Canadian Arctic fleet in July 2007, said, “Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty in the Arctic; either we use it or we lose it . . . Make no mistake, this government intends to use it. Because Canada’s Arctic is central to our identity as a northern nation. It is part of our history and it represents the tremendous potential of our future.”

Brave words but, predictably, after eight years there are no ships. The lack of use by Canada suggests Harper has ceded the Arctic to his Russian nemesis Vladimir Putin, who uses it frequently. Geoffrey Kemp, Mississauga