Thank you, everyone, for having me here today.
Security takes several forms. There's hard security, achieved with missiles, ships, words of aggression, etc. Then there's security that's achieved through soft power diplomacy, or the power of persuasion. Soft power diplomacy turns into hard power via multilateral institutions, joint agreements, etc.
I'm here today to represent Arctic360, Canada's premier Arctic think tank. While we say that Arctic sovereignty and security begins at home, because it does, it is also interdependent of regional Arctic security, and within this Canada's role and influence in the region.
What is the role, then, of think tanks in all of this? According to the European Policy Centre, think tanks impact policy-making through public events, publications and media presence, as well as through such informal levers as closed-door working groups, round tables and convening spaces for backroom diplomacy. They therefore are important for promoting and even safeguarding values and interests in the global arena. They connect different policy areas, thus breaking down silos and group thinking. In effect, think tanks are a crucial component of the soft power landscape.
Arctic360 is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with a majority indigenous-led leadership team. Our mission is to elevate the national conversation about Canada's north and the Arctic region at home and to provide an inclusive and coordinated platform for Canada to engage in Arctic discussions around the world.
Our six themes all consider the intersection between Arctic security at home in the north and on the world stage. I'm just going to touch on several of them.
The first is infrastructure, as we just heard. The national security risks of Canada's Arctic infrastructure deficit are well known. I personally have testified on this topic numerous times. Canada's Arctic security relies on keeping unwanted investments at bay and having the mechanisms to attract the kinds of investments it would like to have. We've learned that investors need the strategic big picture, including an inventory of existing infrastructure, the range of proposed projects, their business cases, etc.
I and Madeleine Redfern, who happens to be the executive director of our northern branch, and our partners at the Wilson Center have spent four years, to no avail, trying to convince Canada to support our efforts to deliver the information that investors want and need. Today the Wilson Center's Polar Institute is actually going at it alone. They are building an inventory of the infrastructure investment potential for Canada's north. Subsequently, the United States is projecting on the global stage the state of critical infrastructure in Canada's north, what should be built and the security risks posed by the existing deficit. Their security message is being heard, from USAID to the Pentagon. Canada needs to do its own policy-facing research to accurately convey to the world its interest and its plans to build infrastructure in the region.
Another theme is diplomacy and geopolitics. Beyond convening conference sessions around the world, we also bring this discussion home through our annual conference to discuss the most pressing Arctic issues with our circumpolar allies. The conference is an invaluable platform for Canada to speak to the world from its own stage. Last year's conference took place less than two weeks after Russia's invasion. The session of Arctic nation ambassadors to Canada was set to basically share the stage with Russia. Arctic360 became a means for Arctic states to communicate at that time unofficially, to ask questions and to find a consensus on how to proceed with an international conversation about Arctic co-operation 10 days into Russia's invasion. Seamlessly, Arctic360 became an important venue for track two diplomacy and consensus building here at home in Canada.
The next theme is critical minerals. The world is looking forward to Canada's coming critical minerals strategy. The north will play a vital role. The national security risk in Canada's Arctic should not be underestimated, yet neither should the opportunity it creates for Canada's soft power diplomacy.
The next theme is Greenland-Canada relations and the North American Arctic. Through our activities, we focus on the importance of a proactive Canada in strengthening Canada-Greenland and North American Arctic co-operation. Without assertive soft power diplomacy, Canada undermines its position and power in the region and its ability to act in its own national interest. A lack of formal diplomacy also undermines Canada's position in the region. We see this happening in Greenland. Soft power diplomacy and formal diplomacy are both necessary for regional leadership and fostering co-operation in Canada's national interest.
In sum, it's not a coincidence that from the inception of the Wilson Center's Polar Institute six years ago, the U.S. has gone from being, I would say, a disengaged Arctic state to directly impacting circumpolar Arctic issues towards its own national interests. Canada takes pride in its active role in multilateral institution building and as a convenor. Soft power diplomacy enabled by think tanks is a crucial step towards formal diplomacy and thus national security.
We are the only Arctic nation with an Arctic think tank that does not have dedicated government support to carry out activities that are in Canada’s national interests in the Arctic. A secure Canadian Arctic is helped by the soft diplomacy mechanisms that think tanks provide to ensure that we do not have to use missiles or fighter jets to defend our north.