Address by Parliamentary Secretary Goldsmith-Jones to the 2016 European Union-Canada Arctic Conference

Speech

Arctic cooperation between the European Union and Canada: More necessary than ever

October 19, 2016 - Ottawa, Ontario

Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the Government of Canada’s official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance With Its Communications Policy.

This is the third time in three weeks that I have had the honour of speaking about the North. And I say this from the heart: marking the 20th anniversary of the Arctic Council, representing Canada at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik and now joining you for this conference have been privileges.

These opportunities have given me a chance to speak about the Arctic and what it means to Canadians from North and South and to learn about the Arctic and how others who share our love and appreciation for it are working to protect it.

The North is our inheritance. We are its temporary custodians: it is ours to care for in tribute to those who have survived and thrived in its harsh climate for thousands of years and in the name of those who will inherit this natural legacy when we leave it behind.

In some ways, it is to our advantage that so many of us have thought about, read about or even visited the Arctic. It means that we care, and it better enables us to effectively address Northern issues of mutual concern: environmental issues, such as climate change and its effect on the North; responsible economic development and its huge potential for Northern communities; and social issues, such as mental and physical health, opportunities for children and the preservation of Northern languages and cultures.

If I have learned anything from spending the past three weeks immersed in Northern issues, it is that the subject matter is infinite. Here, today, I could probably go off in a hundred different directions and still somehow manage to stay on topic. Because like the Arctic itself, the discussions it provokes are vast, and as I am sure many of you know, the debates it generates can seem endless.

So, with that in mind, I will keep to these three subjects:

  • the Arctic in the context of Canada-EU relations;
  • economic and social development; and
  • science.

Canada-EU relations with an Arctic focus

Canada and the European Union have a long history of bilateral and multilateral engagement. We have worked together to address a wide range of issues, including the Arctic. This year marks a significant milestone for our relationship: 40 years of diplomatic relations and meaningful cooperation.

A recent good example of our strong ties is the Canada-EU Strategic Partnership Agreement, which is slated to be signed during the Canada-EU Leaders’ Summit next week.

It lays out a strategic direction for even stronger future relations and collaboration between Canada and the EU on many topics of shared interest. These include enhanced cooperation on circumpolar issues and other subjects such as climate change, international ocean and maritime policy, and fisheries—all of which relate in some way to the Arctic.

Canada, the EU and its member states, and indeed the Arctic itself, can only benefit from our closer cooperation.

More generally, Canada and the EU approach global issues from a perspective of shared values. Here, as elsewhere in the world, there is tremendous scope for us to work together, to seek and achieve consensus among our peers and to support and contribute to the work we do individually.

Canada welcomed the April 2016 release of the Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council: An Integrated European Union policy for the Arctic. We appreciate the focus on international cooperation in order to respond to the impact of climate change and to promote and contribute to sustainable development.

This is because the Government of Canada shares this focus, as does our mutual partner, the United States. The spirit of cooperation to achieve shared priorities equally underpins the March 2016 U.S.-Canada Joint Statement on Climate, Energy and Arctic Leadership.

It calls on Arctic nations and those with Arctic interests to embrace a new future for Arctic leadership, focused on conserving Arctic biodiversity through science-based decision making, incorporating Indigenous science and traditional knowledge into decision making, building a sustainable Arctic economy and supporting strong Arctic communities.

Canada looks forward to working with the EU and its member states to advance these common objectives, which are well-reflected in the EU policy.

More importantly, as speakers from Canada’s Arctic communities have noted, addressing the impact of climate change and integrating the promotion of sustainable economic development are priorities for those who live in the Canadian North.

For many, these issues are quite literally a question of life and death.

Changes to the climate are exacting a terrible toll on the mental and physical health of Northerners—people for whom the Arctic is more than just a place to live. For so many, it is also a land that fosters deep connections to past generations and a conduit through which the culture and tradition that are so representative of our Northern peoples move from past to present to future.

Many have talked about the heavy emotional and psychological costs of climate change in the North.

At the Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland last week, we heard the Honourable Monica Ell-Kanayuk, Deputy Premier of Nunavut, speak eloquently on mental well-being. In her remarks, she told us about a program that takes Inuit teenagers out on the land as an after-school program, leading to direct and measurable benefits to participants in reducing the frequency and severity of suicidal thoughts. The land is not the same as it was for those children’s fathers and grandfathers. And if we do not act quickly and effectively, the land in the future will continue its tragic decline as a habitat, home and cultural centrepiece for the inhabitants of the North.

As we all know, climate change is driven by activity elsewhere on the planet but is most deeply felt in the Arctic. It doesn’t matter what side of the Atlantic we live on or how big or small of a stake we have in the North, basic human decency dictates that we must work together and directly with the communities that are affected to address the issues they face.

This is why the Government of Canada welcomes the European Union’s commitment to engaging with Arctic Indigenous communities in Europe and outside of Europe, whether through the EU’s annual Indigenous Peoples’ Dialogue or through other occasions for discussion, such as this very conference.

Economic and social development

As in so many other parts of the world, responsible economic growth is a way forward—provided that it is undertaken by and for the local populations.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs], which I understand will underpin the priorities of the upcoming Finnish chairmanship of the Arctic Council, are an avenue toward such growth and improvement.

Of the 17 SDGs, most could leave a remarkable imprint on the North.

To name just a few: no poverty, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, climate action, and of particular significance by virtue of the Arctic’s enormous resource potential, responsible consumption and production, and decent work and economic growth.

Explored responsibly, Northern resources offer huge potential for increased economic development.

The possibilities are there.

The Canada-EU joint statement on access to the EU market for seal products from Indigenous communities of Canada is a good example. Harvesting seals has been an integral part of the tradition, culture and identity of Northern populations. They rely on the seal hunt for direct necessities of life and to sustain their communities economically through the income it generates. We are hopeful that this sustainable resource again shows up in European markets.

Tourism that focuses on the culture of Northern residents and exploration of the North’s telecommunications potential are other areas of collaboration that could generate important growth.

To help develop an economically vibrant future for the region, the Arctic Council created the Arctic Economic Council [AEC]—an independent organization that facilitates Arctic business-to-business activities and responsible economic development.

The council was launched in September 2014 in Iqaluit, Nunavut, and brings a circumpolar business perspective to the work of the Arctic Council. We would encourage European businesses to be involved in the work of the AEC.

The outlook in the North could become bright and promising. But opportunities can be fully realized only if we are all mindful of the North’s unique social, cultural, economic, environmental and political realities.

At all times, our work must aim to improve the well-being of Arctic residents, to promote sustainable socio-economic development and to protect the Arctic environment throughout the region, including maintaining the cultural heritage and livelihoods of those who live in the North. This includes working in collaboration with Northerners toward the inclusion of traditional and local knowledge within decision-making processes.

Canada highly values engaging and consulting with Northerners as international Arctic policies are carried out. Just a few weeks ago in Washington, D.C., international collaboration and the inclusion of Arctic Indigenous peoples in science and decision making were recognized as essential to the advancement of research in the Arctic. Science that includes traditional and local knowledge is better science.

Science

Science is important. And scientific cooperation to address climate change and strengthen environmental protection is at the heart of Canada-EU Arctic cooperation.

Canada looks forward to continuing to work with the EU and its member states to improve our understanding of the integrated Arctic environmental and human systems with input by, and for the benefit of, Arctic residents.

We are pleased to partner with the EU and the United States to advance the implementation of the Transatlantic Ocean Research Alliance. The Arctic element of the Galway Statement, managed for Canada by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Polar Knowledge Canada, is an important element of our cooperation. We encourage the EU and its member states to further collaborate with Polar Knowledge Canada at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station when it opens next year.

The EU Arctic Policy attaches particular importance to science, research and innovation. We see these as key areas for closer Canada-EU cooperation, and we look forward to working with the EU and member states through forums such as the Climate & Clean Air Coalition and the Arctic Council.

Science—physical, social and traditional knowledge—is at the core of the Arctic Council’s work. Canada will continue to work with Arctic Council states, Permanent Participants and observers to shape a better future for the Arctic through sound, science-based decision making.

The Arctic Council is making important contributions to a number of the priorities highlighted in the new EU Arctic Policy, including migratory birds, black carbon and methane. Canada is actively engaged with these efforts and welcomes the EU’s contributions. Once signed and ratified by Arctic states, we will welcome the EU’s participation in the Arctic Scientific Cooperation Agreement.

Conclusion

Canada and the European Union are collaborating in so many areas, and we should be proud of that. But we can be doing even more together, and Canada is eager to increase those collaborations.

As many of you heard me say three weeks ago, and maybe even in Iceland at the Arctic Circle Assembly, Canada is deeply committed to the Arctic Council, the primary forum for international cooperation on Arctic issues.

As such, we continue to strongly support the EU’s application for observer status.

As a de facto observer, we look forward to the EU continuing to make important contributions to the work of the Arctic Council, including supporting Indigenous Permanent Participants.

We appreciate what the EU brings to the conversation and are thankful for its contributions in the North.

Thank you.

Contacts

Chantal Gagnon
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
343-203-1851
chantal.gagnon@international.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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