U.S. President Donald TrumpSA国际影视传媒檚 global economic war is escalating.
Canada continues to be in the US crosshairs. Canadian reaction has gone from shock to anger. The governments across our country have closed ranks and presented a coordinated response to TrumpSA国际影视传媒檚 tariffs. The prime minister and premiers are saying the right things. There is a rising tide of Canadian nationalism in response to threats of annexation, the unilateral tearing up of treaties and agreements, and other incursions into our country.
Politics at the federal level is in a state of flux. On March 9, the Liberals overwhelmingly picked Mark Carney as their new leader and our prime minister. We are now going to see a federal election in the midst of this fast-moving economic war while also trying to stay organized and coordinated as a country. We have a prorogued Parliament, with a caretaker government and a prime minister who has no seat in Parliament. We are in a national emergency. This has made two things clear: the normal way of working and doing business is not adequate to this emergency and we need to be able to move fast as we are playing serious catch-up. Trump, and the Project 2025 folks, have been preparing for years and have executed a blitzkrieg political offensive starting Jan. 20, the day Trump took his oath of office.
The North is especially vulnerable. The recently announced Arctic strategy is already out of date. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been active in the Arctic for decades. Hard as it is to write, he now has an ally in Trump, who has his own Arctic aspirations, including the annexation of Canada and Greenland. He is also a great admirer of PutinSA国际影视传媒檚 ruthless, dictatorial reign. Together, they would divide up the Arctic, riding roughshod over the rest of us in the circumpolar world. Team Canada has to be focused and vigilant to deal with all the fast-moving internal challenges and external threats.
In the NWT, when it comes to being ready for a big emergency, we learned in the 2023 fire season we were not ready, from the NWT cabinet on down. In that very high-stress, fast-moving environment, there were serious questions in terms of overall leadership, government planning, coordination, communication and operations within the GNWT and among the numerous other governments involved. There were extensive after-action debriefings and reviews done post-fire season to identify what worked, what did not and what changes needed to be made so we would be better prepared for the next big emergency. I would note that those brave folks in harm's way, fighting to protect us on the ground and in the air, in the communities, did an amazing job in spite of all the confusion in the rear and upper echelons that had to be sorted out on the fly.
We are now in the midst of an even bigger, national emergency SA国际影视传媒� a global, economic war being fought where we live. The NWT has a key role to play in our Arctic security, along with the federal government and the other provincial, territorial and indigenous governments. Team NWT needs its A game. We have previously discussed the ambitious proposed Arctic security to-do list SA国际影视传媒� a number of measures are already in place or being planned. Given the state of political flux in Canada, has the broader plan for the North been developed and agreed to, or is it a work in progress?
Either way the lessons from 2023 are pretty clear at the territorial level, in this type of emergency situation:
-visible, coordinated, political leadership and demonstrated political will are imperative
-clear thinking, and a good plan of what to do and how to do it are essential
-expedited, timely decision-making processes are critical
-being nimble, agile, able to adapt and improvise in fast-moving circumstances are survival skills
-tactical command and control has to be at the level where the action is, not at the rear or upper-echelons
-clear, constant communication with the people will keep us all strong and united
When I was a minister with high-priority political initiatives, like negotiating transboundary water agreements or building the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link, that was the approach our teams successfully used. The approach has been battle tested in extreme political conditions, and it works.
The coming months will put us all to the test as no one is coming to save us.
