The Arctic Council was specifically designed not to deal with security, and that was one of the requirements that the Americans had. It is my belief that the Arctic Council will now transform, the way the G8 transformed into the G7. It's too important for the rest of the countries, but the reality is that the Russians will never come back to an Arctic Council that includes seven members that are NATO members. Remember, Finland and Sweden are now pursuing NATO membership, therefore Russia is not going to come back.
Does this mean that we now have the opportunity to give the Arctic Council a greater human security role? I think there would be a great appetite for addressing many of the issues we're dealing with here with the Emergencies Act. Remember that the Arctic Council is the only international organization that has given standing to the indigenous peoples of the North. No other body, until UNDRIP comes forward, even gets that consideration in international law.
I would say that, yes, we're going to have an Arctic Council. It will be different, just as the G7 is different from the G8, but we have an opportunity here if we are willing to go forward with bold leadership.