Thank you for the question, Mr. Bevington.
I hate to disagree with you, but I think in fact sustainable communities are relevant to the entire circumpolar region. If you look at the north of Russia, the north of Scandinavia, Alaska, and the three Canadian territories, they are all facing many similar issues.
I just spent last week in an Arctic community in Sweden that is dying. The majority of people who live in that small community are unemployed. It struck those of us who were there as being very similar to the situations in many northern Canadian communities. We know it's the same in Alaska and in Russia as well.
Under the theme of sustainable communities, we have adaptation. When you take the term “sustainable” in the strongest fashion, it's about whether communities can continue to exist where they currently are. Adaptation to climate change is a theme that has been in the Arctic Council for a number of years already. It's a priority for Canada. Government money is already being put into that program. We will continue the work that is already ongoing in the Arctic Council on adaptation to ensure that those communities that are affected by the impacts of climate change can continue to sustain themselves physically, culturally, and socio-economically as well.