Rising Above the Rhetoric: Listening to Northern Voices in the Rapidly Changing Circumpolar World

As climate change continues to warm the Arctic at an exceptional pace, the political discourse in the circumpolar region has also been heating up as states use strongly nationalistic rhetoric to handle complex issues involving boundaries, resource exploitation, and environmental issues. Canada has engaged heavily in this discourse, using catchy statements like 'stand up for Canada' to draw the attention of the public and its arctic neighbours. This contrasts with the priorities of the territorial governments and Northern Aboriginal groups like the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC) and Gwich'in Council International, which have consistently emphasized that Canada should constructively engage its arctic neighbours to build a more stable and cooperative region. Critics have also suggested that the sense of alarmism that is developing in Canada about the Arctic has led to the marginalization of the northern voice in the framing of Canada's domestic and foreign policy for the region. While the changes afflicting the Arctic impact the everyday lives of northerners, they remain on the periphery of decision-making for the region.

Based largely on interviews with key stakeholders, this paper examines Northerners' perspectives on how the Arctic Council might be enhanced to better serve the circumpolar world of the twenty-first century, and how Northerners can be better engaged in priority- and agenda-setting on the domestic level. For decades the South, with little knowledge of the North, has directed Canada's arctic policies with negligible input from the actual inhabitants. Northerners are facing some very difficult realities as their homes continue to change rapidly, and they need to be heard. Northerners have many ideas and suggestions on how to improve circumpolar cooperation and mitigate the results of climate change, and want to be involved in shaping Canada's policies for the region. Their voices need to rise above the crescendo of political rhetoric and have an influence on any decisions that are made. In the words of Bridget Laroque, a representative from the Gwich'in Council International,"It only makes sense that the government will work with its people. You have to ensure that your citizens' needs are met."