What the Macdonald commission had to say:

Northerners have a common interest with all Canadians in trade with the rest of the world, but two issues may be of special concern to them: trade with Alaska, and trade with the entire circumpolar region.

 The major flow of Canada-U.S. trade is between Canada and the continental United States, but trade between Alaska and Yukon is of great importance to Northerners. The Yukon government and a number of interest groups have suggested freer economic relations with Alaska. Commissioners recommend research on a special bilateral trade agreement affecting the far northwest. Yukon's only access to ocean is through the Alaskan ports of Haines and Skagway. Some Canadians have suggested that Skagway, which has land links with the rest of Alaska only through highways in British Columbia and Yukon, could become a "free port".

 Some Northerners would like to further relations with other parts of the circumpolar region. The Inuit of Canada share linguistic and cultural ties with Greenland, Alaska and the Soviet Union. They have formed the Inuit Circumpolar Conference to maintain cultural ties and to address problems of common Arctic concern. Spokespersons for the Canadian Inuit have indicated a desire to see these links sanctioned officially. They want to foster international efforts to protect the Arctic environment, and they wish to facilitate economic and cultural exchange among the circumpolar peoples.

Source: Canada, Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada, Report, Vol. 3 (Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services, 1985), p. 359.