YELLOWKNIFE - Stephen Harper might have a pair of military announcements to make during his Arctic tour on Friday but he says defending Canadian sovereignty in the North is not just up to the Canadian Forces.
The prime minister will be flanked by his embattled minister of defence -- Gordon O'Connor, whom he is expected to drop in a cabinet shuffle next week -- as he launches two major initiatives.
He is expected to announce the construction of a new deep-sea military port in Nunavut, as well as a Canadian Forces winter fighting school near the top of the Northwest Passage.
That new installation in the heart of the disputed Arctic archipelago will be used to argue that Canada owns not only the area's countless islands but also the waterways that other countries claim as international territory.
But the prime minister suggested Thursday that Canada's territorial claim must consist of more than just big-ticket military announcements.
"(It) includes a variety of activities -- environmental activities, social activities to build communities in the North, and also National Defence activities,'' Harper said.
"As you know, I intend to participate in a variety of activities while I'm in this region.''
The Canadian government has ridiculed the Russians for sending a mini-submarine to plant a flag underneath the North Pole -- dismissing the move as an empty gesture.
Harper's itinerary for Friday was knocked into disarray late Thursday by a powerful windstorm that kept his military transport aircraft grounded and his travelling contingent stuck in Yellowknife overnight.
He arrived in the North on Wednesday to announce that he would expand the pristine Nahanni National Park to more than 30,000 square kilometres -- more than six times its original size.
Environmental activists were hoping the long-awaited expansion of the park would cover not only the towering peaks and powerful rivers but also a zinc mine located in the park's watershed.
But they hailed the move as a positive first step.
Harper also addressed a priority of the Northwest Territories government: devolution or the transfer of province-like powers from Ottawa. The territorial government has longed for decades for greater power in managing its land and in levying taxes from resource-based industries.
Harper expressed regret that Ottawa hasn't been able to reach a deal like the one it did with Yukon in 2001. He said reaching an agreement with the Northwest Territories is more difficult because of the more complex orders of aboriginal government.
"We're closer but not there yet. I gather some progress has been made but, as you know, with a negotiation nothing's settled until everything's settled,'' Harper said.
The territorial government calls reaching a deal its No. 1 priority.
One territorial cabinet minister described northern economic development as a principal component of sovereignty.
The region may see greater economic potential because of global warming but major challenges lie ahead, said Industry Minister Brendan Bell.
"There's so much discussion around the North -- about sovereignty -- and we wanted to make the point that sovereignty is going to continue to be about having viable northern economic communities,'' Bell said.
''We've got just a huge infrastructure gap between the North and the south. We'd like to see more investment in roads, in ports, in infrastructure, to help us develop our economy, help us have strong communities, and help ensure people can continue to live here and thrive here.''
Harper said he wants to see the area attract a greater share of immigration to Canada.
After attending a roundtable with local business and government leaders, he said he also wants to address the problem of traditional winter roads becoming increasingly unreliable because of global warming.
"That's an issue we're going to have to take seriously moving forward,'' he said.
Harper added that the federal EcoTrust program -- which in most parts of the country is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions -- will in the North see more cash spent on helping communities deal with the impact of global warming.
The prime minister also visited a geological-research centre Thursday, staring into high-tech landscape surveillance equipment and examining a 4.1 billion-year-old rock -- called the oldest in the world.
Bell said his territory needs more research facilities to help tap into its mineral potential.
"(It's) not only physical infrastructure (we need),'' he said.
"We know that we need additional knowledge base in terms of geo sciences resources. I think that's very important. We're going to see additional activity here, we're going to need to know what the prospectivity is.''
