Foreign Affairs Committee on Jan. 29th, 2026

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Premiers, thank you for appearing before committee today.

Premier Simpson, in September 2025, you made the argument that the “North is already shaping Canada's future” in four ways: “sovereignty and security” through the “permanent presence” of viable communities and military infrastructure, “critical minerals”, “Indigenous economic self-determination” and “climate resilience”.

My question is for Premier Main. Do you agree with that? Are you on the same page as Premier Simpson?

[John Main]

More or less on the broad strokes, yes. We're wanting to see a balanced approach. In terms of infrastructure or funding efforts, I think we can't just focus on one aspect of the needs, check the box and say, okay, we'll move off. This is a multi-faceted problem created over a long time.

My belief is that there's a long pattern of underinvestment. To solve that, it takes a sustained effort over time and balanced investment in different areas in our communities.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you.

Premier Simpson, do you believe that the federal government is on the same page with you and with your vision?

[R.J. Simpson]

Yes, I do. I've had great meetings with the Prime Minister and other ministers as well—Minister Chartrand and Minister McGuinty—and I do feel as though we are all on the same page.

I have a pretty big vision for the territory and what it could look like in the future. I recognize our opportunities. To realize that vision, it's going to take some major investments, and I feel as though those major investments are in the pipes.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

In the short term, do you see that the vision of the federal government is within your vision to solve and that there's something that can be done quickly to make sure the territories are looked after? Right now, they are at the centre of our sovereignty issue.

[R.J. Simpson]

Yes. Right now, there's a lot of money allocated for defence. I know that a pre-procurement notice came out today and had some big dollars attached to it for the Northwest Territories. There's an opportunity where the federal government is advancing its vision and also an opportunity for economic benefit to the people of the territory if it's done right. As well, we have some other big projects that I expect are going to advance in the short term.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Can you name one of the projects that you believe that will go first to the territories?

[R.J. Simpson]

The Mackenzie Valley Highway has certain sections already permitted. We're wrapping up the phase one environmental assessment. It's good to go immediately.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

This question is for both of you.

What is the time frame in which you think we can have a military presence in the Arctic?

Premier Main, I believe you said that 44% of the people out there feel unsafe.

Do both of you feel unsafe being there? Do you believe that a military presence can be coming in as soon as you and the people expect it to?

[John Main]

Just to clarify, the 44% was in terms of food insecurity. That's what I mentioned in my comments.

In terms of military presence, I believe the existing footprint in Iqaluit is going to be augmented. You're asking what the timeline is. I believe that a northern operational support hub to be developed in Iqaluit is at the front of the queue.

We welcome additional investments into additional communities. Just like in southern Canada, we have regional centres or larger communities that have more infrastructure, more resources and generally more wealth, and then we have the outlying communities, which are more disadvantaged economically in terms of infrastructure. We welcome investment that's balanced geographically across the territory.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Premier Simpson, that question is for you too, on the same topic.

[R.J. Simpson]

No, I don't feel unsafe. Part of the reason for that is if you look at the Arctic, no one is invading the Arctic and coming over the top. There's an old saying that if the Russians invaded, the first thing we'd have to do is send out a rescue party. It's not an inviting landscape for that type of operation.

In terms of how soon, we have the headquarters for the Joint Task Force North in Yellowknife. We have a forward operating location in Inuvik. There's already work happening there, and I know there's more work coming. As well, we have Operation Nanook, which is the military exercise that happens in the Arctic, and that is being expanded, from what I understand.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

I have one final question. Are there any specific items where there's disagreement with the federal government on any issues up there?

That's for both of you, in 10 seconds each, if you can.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Give a brief response.

[John Main]

On the agreement with the federal government at this point in time, things are pretty collegial. I'm very encouraged with the overall direction of the actions that will follow the words. I think that's where we'll be watching very closely. If we do run into any areas where we don't agree with the approach, we're going to make sure we voice those, but at this point there's nothing that comes to mind.

[R.J. Simpson]

I agree.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

We will go next to MP Mona Fortier.

You have five minutes.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

Thank you so much for being here and sharing in person, and showing us the needs but also the realities you have in the north. I have this dream to go one day. I have not had the privilege of going to Nunavut, but I have been to Yellowknife. I have experienced it for a short time, and it is very different. Canadians need to learn that there are two realities of the north and the south, and we can't just copy and paste and send it up north. Thank you for sharing more today.

We were all very surprised to hear, of course, President Trump trying to take some space in the Greenland territory. What's the mood in the Northwest Territories and in Nunavut? How are people looking at what's happening with the south and our southern neighbour? How are we positioning ourselves for sovereignty and security? What's the mood on the ground in your territories?

[John Main]

In terms of Greenland, I'll qualify my response and say that I'm not an expert or an authority in foreign policy. Obviously, that's a federal function that we respect, and we work closely with our federal partners in that regard.

The mood regarding Greenland, from what I can gather, is a mix of concern, anger and solidarity with Greenland. Obviously, there are strong cultural links between the Inuit in Nunavut and the Inuit in Greenland. I myself am not Inuk—I'm non-indigenous—but there are those cultural, ancestral and language links. They're our neighbours and it's very unsettling for us, in a general sense, to be hearing that type of talk.

[R.J. Simpson]

Nunavut is much closer to Greenland, obviously, but it did bring things a little close to home. Any time you talk about armed conflict on your borders, it is concerning. I know someone who's a bit of a pacifist who went out and booked an appointment to get their firearms licence, so some people are taking this very seriously, and we see the escalation.

I want to comment on something you said earlier, that you can't copy and paste what works in southern Canada and put it in the north. That's the one message I always try to hammer home to the feds: Think about the north and understand the fact that the reality is you can't do it, so always have something that is tailored to the north if you want it to work.

Thank you.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

The Arctic is experiencing a lot of change, and we are witnessing today the need for infrastructure and more support in food security and to work with indigenous peoples to protect the land from what climate change is doing. Can you talk to us a little bit about how we need to protect the environment right now in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut?

[John Main]

In terms of protecting the environment, we could have a stand-alone meeting on this. One thing that we'd like to do in Nunavut is reduce our carbon footprint in terms of our power generation. Right now, we have 25 stand-alone microgrids, and we're burning diesel 24-7 in all of our communities. We're moving towards more renewables. We'll have our first community-scale solar farm coming online in Naujaat in the coming months, so that's very exciting for us. That's one example. We realize that diesel fuel is not the lowest carbon option.

One other item I'll mention very briefly in terms of dealing with climate change is that we need to make sure that our infrastructure is resilient and built properly, to spec, so that it can deal with things like shifting permafrost and so that it's protected against sudden floods. That's another huge area that we're dealing with.

[R.J. Simpson]

I would say that when your house is on fire, you don't worry so much about how you're going to fire-smart and what sort of siding you're going to use. You're worried about putting the fire out.

We're in that position in the territory. We had back-to-back years in 2022 and 2023 of the biggest natural disasters in the territory's history. I live on the shores of the Great Slave Lake, one of the biggest lakes in the world. It had its highest water level on record in 2022 and the lowest water level on record in 2023. In 2022, we had a massive flood in my community, and in 2023, 70% of the territory was evacuated due to wildfires.

We do have very strong environmental standards in the territory, but we're at the point where we need to manage our environment. We need to do fire-smarting and things like that. It really is about that resilience and ensuring we have appropriate infrastructure.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

Next we have MP Brunelle-Duceppe.

You have two and a half minutes.