Federal officials fret over army war game in Arctic
Posted August 23, 2012 6:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS1130) – The administrative wing of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office worried about the optics of hundreds of Canadian troops taking part in a major NATO-sponsored Arctic war game in northern Norway earlier this year.
Conservatives have made rebuilding the military, more international involvement and a more muscular presence in the North key policy touchstones.
But senior federal officials told the army last fall they weren’t sure the country should participate Exercise Cold Response.
The Privy Council Office wrote the army expressing fears that participating in a “war-fighting exercise” could be misconstrued.
Rob Huebert, an expert on Arctic defence and sovereignty, says the internal debate underscores clear divisions within the federal government about how to proceed in the North.
He says the Conservatives have been sending a lot of mixed signals and softening their rhetoric.
