Military hopeful new Arctic port will open in 2022, but 'significant' uncertainty remains
The Canadian military says there are no guarantees that its long-delayed Arctic naval station will finally open next year, prompting defence critics to call the ongoing construction delays confounding and dangerous.
The best-case scenario would see the Nanisivik Naval Station on Baffin Island completed in September and ready to begin operations in summer 2022, approximately 15 years after the federal government announced the project.
“However, there remains significant schedule uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic and how this may impact the 2021 construction season in the Arctic,” said a National Defence spokesperson who confirmed the construction timeline with CTV News.
But the pandemic can’t account for the years of delays the Arctic refuelling station has faced since blowing its initial delivery date in 2013.
‘HARD TO GET OUR HEADS AROUND’
Former prime minister Stephen Harper announced plans to build the deep-water port on a former Nunavut mine site in 2007, coinciding with the announcement that Canada would build up to eight Arctic and offshore patrol vessels for the military.
While the Navy welcomed the first patrol vessel into service in late June, the ship’s Arctic resupply port is still at least a year away from opening, leaving the ship without a domestic resupply station in the Far North.
Instead, the newly commissioned HMCS Harry DeWolf will likely have to rely on Greenland to refuel for Arctic excursions until the Nanisivik facility is ready, according to one defence analyst.
“At this point, this project is a little confounding,” said David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “We’ve been at it for 15 years, yet it’s still not open. That’s kind of hard to get our heads around.”
It’s especially confounding, Perry said, given that the project is being constructed on existing port infrastructure and has been scaled down dramatically since its original design.
Gone are the airstrip and the year-round site facilities from the initial plan. The station will instead consist of a jetty, a helicopter pad, fuel storage tanks, a wharf operator’s shelter, an unheated warehouse and a site office, according to the defence department.
The entire facility will be staffed by between four and six people during its seasonal operating window of July through October.
‘NAIVE AND DANGEROUS APPROACH TO ARCTIC SOVEREIGNTY’
Canada's struggle to get even a small resupply station up and running draws a clear contrast with the country’s Arctic rivals, according to Conservative defence critic James Bezan.
“The Russian government is opening military bases in the Arctic and the Chinese Communist regime is expanding its Arctic naval fleet beyond the capabilities of Canada and the United States combined,” said Bezan, who co-chairs the House of Commons defence committee, in an email.
Bezan slammed the federal government’s “naïve and dangerous approach to Arctic sovereignty,” accusing the government of mismanaging the Nanisivik project, which he says remains vital to Canada’s security in the Far North.
The difficulties with the Nanisivik project send the wrong message about Canada’s larger commitment to continental security, Perry said, and signal more trouble ahead as Canada and the United States work towards a modernized NORAD defence pact.
“Other countries have invested very big sums of money in lots of different places in their own backyard and done so much, much, much more quickly,” the defence analyst said.
“If we’re thinking about the message that this would be sending to somebody else – Russia, in particular, but also our own allies, the Americans, other NATO allies that have interests in the Arctic – I would think that this sends a particular message about how Canada prioritizes these kinds of investments in the North,” Perry said.
“If it has taken 15 years to get a much-scaled-down version of the Nanisivik deep-water port not-yet built – and I guess fingers-crossed for September – I really do wonder how fast we’ll be able to build anything that we need for a modernized NORAD command to be able to properly defend the continent,” he added.
The latest cost estimate for the Nanisivik naval station is $130 million before taxes, according to National Defence.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.