More on the “Bears” – and some more politically hot air by the opposition from Canoe.ca ….
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2010/08/25/15134021.html
Russian bombers turned away
PM in Arctic promoting Canadian sovereignty
By David Akin, Parliamentary Bureau chief
RESOLUTE, Nunavut – As Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood on the shores of Allen Bay surveying the Canadian Forces’ annual operations in Canada’s Arctic, Canadian Rangers stood sentry nearby with rifles at the ready for the ever-present and clear danger in the North: A hungry polar bear.
But to hear Harper tell it, in a speech to about about 250 troops here, the real dangers are Russian bombers and “foreign interests” who, Harper said, are hungrily eyeing Canada’s resource-rich North.
“We live in a time of renewed foreign interest in Canada’s Arctic. With foreign aircraft probing the skies, vessels plying northern waters and the eyes of the world gazing our way we must remain vigilant,” Harper said.
Just ahead of Harper’s arrival in Resolute, his officials issued a press release indicating that some Russian Air Force bombers approached Canada’s airspace near Inuvik, N.W.T. Two Canadian CF-18s were scrambled from CFB Bagotville in Quebec and shadowed the Russian “Bears” until they turned around and headed home.
Russian embassy officials have said NORAD is notified when the Russian planes engage in exercises near Canadian or U.S. airspace. But Canadian defence department officials say there was no notice for this week’s flight or one earlier this year off the Labrador coast.
But Canadian officials do say that the Russians have “knocked on Canada’s airspace” more than two dozen times over the last few years.
Liberal MP Larry Bagnell, who represents the Yukon, accused the government of making a big deal out of a routine military exercise.
“When it suits the Conservatives’ purposes they bring forward something the Russians have done routinely, not breaking international law, and all of a sudden make a big case out of it,” said Bagnell. “They’re changing the channel, or trying to get support or get people riled up, pick an adversary and do that.”
Nonetheless, the presence of the Russian Bears as Harper arrived in Canada’s northernmost settlement served a useful political purpose in that it allowed him to speak about the importance of investing in military assets and people to protect Canadian sovereignty in the North.
“All these efforts are towards one non-negotiable priority and that is the protection and promotion of Canada’s sovereignty over what it is our North,” Harper said to the applause of the troops.
The Harper government recently announced it would spend what some analysts say is up to $16 billion for new F-35 fighter aircraft. The Liberals say if they form the government, they will “review” the deal, suggesting that Canada does not need new fighter aircraft.
Regarding Canadian Airspace…
Airspace means the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere.
The Canadian Domestic Airspace includes all of Canada and extends out over the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic Oceans. It is broadly divided into the Northern Domestic Airspace (NDA) and the Southern Domestic Airspace (SDA).
Please remember that ALL the islands ‘North of 60’ west of Greenland and east of the Alaska/Yukon border and as far north as the Geographic north pole ARE Canadian territory. The Forces maintain CFS Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island (82°30′N)
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