From October 3-5, 1997, fourteen Arctic specialists (see Appendix 1) met in Calgary to review the Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade titled, Canada And The Circumpolar World: Meeting The Challenges Of Cooperation Into The Twenty-First Century. Hosted by the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee and supported by the Walter and Duncan Gordon Charitable Foundation, the Calgary Working Group (CWG) assessed the report and identified a number of further initiatives that it believes would serve Canada's circumpolar Arctic interests and foreign policy for the region.

The CWG applauds the Standing Committee for the breadth and depth of its report. The report identifies important policy needs and its many recommendations are, on balance, constructive and forward looking. As the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee notes in his "Forward", issues concerning indigenous peoples, environment, and economies have been addressed previously, but, "largely from a domestic perspective". Given the effects of human activities in distant regions on the Arctic, its people, and their shared traditions and visions, it is timely to pursue efforts to focus attention on Canada's foreign policies for the circumpolar Arctic. The CWG believes that the report of the Standing Committee can be an effective tool in promoting public discussion on Canada's obligations and opportunities in the Arctic. In making its own views public, the CWG hopes to stimulate a national discourse on Canada roles in the future of the circumpolar Arctic.

In spite of the many strengths of the report and its good intentions, it could have spoken more forcefully to the need to improve our ability, in both domestic and international policy spheres, to imagine, to design, and to act as a society that is uniquely northern and to do so with coherence, reciprocity, mutual respect, and a sense of self-reliance rooted in interdependence. It is time to create a vibrant and meaningful sense of "connectedness" amongst all those for whom the Arctic/North is important. Connections give rise to consciousness, identity, and shared experiences, all essential in charting purpose, policy and practice. There are clear signs of strengthening north-to-north connections within Canada and between northern Canadians and our circumpolar neighbours. There are fewer signs of novel north-south linkages - not the centre-periphery or the metropolis-hinterland traditions - but new relations focused on our northerness, on new models of governance, and on shared values and the innovative opportunities that await. A wider consciousness is needed in which northern institutions and organizations, especially those of Aboriginal societies and public governments, exert an upward and outward reaching momentum. The combination of comprehensive land claims, or "treaty-making", devolution, Aboriginal self-government, and new economic arrangements (e.g. impact and Benefit agreements) provide a truly northern platform for governance, both domestic and international.

Northern nations share values, cultures, economies, and ecologies. Circumpolar issues are intertwined with national ones. If we are to be successful in our international obligations and opportunities, then our domestic house must be put in order. The CWG believes that the building blocks for sustainable futures are to be found in the efforts of Northerners to advance the sustainability agenda, to re-shape northern governance, and to insist on knowledge-based policy,

The CWG believes Canada is, and is looked to, as a centre of innovation. These innovations are often a product of three of Canada's distinctive and prominent areas of concern, namely, Aboriginal initiatives, environment, and the North. Taken together they provide much of the basis for a credible approach to sustainable development. A number of our domestic, bilateral, and multilateral initiatives are setting standards for future cooperative action. Now is the moment to build on the "good news" and forge new foreign and domestic policy that will ensure sustainable futures across the circumpolar Arctic.

There is an inclination among the other Arctic states to expect a strong role by Canada in circumpolar affairs; this is a result of what is seen as a "natural" consequence of its significant territorial presence in the North. An understanding of this by Canada could help to adopt less constrained postures in circumpolar affairs, without in any way jeopardizing its ability to continue to be a fair, sensible, and sensitive Arctic neighbour to the remainder of the Arctic Eight. Instead, the current reality of a Canada that seems perplexed and unsure in its otherwise natural Arctic prominence is a situation that erodes its credibility in various circumpolar fora.

In spite of our accomplishments however, important objectives remain unmet. The CWG is concerned that the level of effort on the part of the Government of Canada with respect to the Arctic Council, and circumpolar policy more generally, has lagged - circumpolar affairs have not received due regard. The group is also concerned with the lack of attention and support for the "upward guidance" initiatives of Aboriginal and territorial government organizations in the Arctic with respect to governance, sustainable development and circumpolar cooperation. The CWG explored this concept in some detail and its views are found both in the body of the report and its appendices.

Discussion also focused on the Canadian treaty making experience, one which is being widely discussed in other parts of the circumpolar Arctic. Modern comprehensive land claim agreements, or "treaties", are seen as successfully resolving many inter-societal conflicts in the North. Where decades of conflict have characterized Aboriginal - Euro-Canadian relations, contemporary treaties are fostering a new order of mutual respect, trust, and cooperation. As successful as these initiatives are, it is important to remember that they are new and often fragile. The CWG believes it is essential for the realization of sustainable futures that these upward reaching initiatives be supported and strengthened. In doing this, the focus should be upon practical matters - how organizations are engaging themselves in sustainable development on a day-to-day basis. This is not a time to argue over vague definitions. It is a time to accept sustainable development as an evolving process, guided by principles, and learning by doing.

For these reasons the CWG would have preferred to see greater emphasis in the report of the Standing Committee on the nature of changing governance in the Arctic, on the action orientation to sustainable development and on an emerging Arctic and circumpolar consciousness among northern peoples themselves. All have significant implications for Canada's foreign policy in the circumpolar Arctic.

The report of the CWG begins with a discussion of themes that it believes need more emphasis and attention. These include;

• Sustainable Development;
• Governance: Perspectives on Treaty- Making, Devolution, Globalization, and Security;
• Arctic Science;
• Arctic Council;
• Canadian Polar Commission; and
• Ideas for Action

These discussions are followed by the CWG's assessment of most of the recommendations in the report of the Standing Committee. The CWG report concludes with appendices that elaborate on some of the themes, issues, and opportunities.

Sustainable Development ... continue