Harry Shannon
Canada is a huge country, the second-largest in the world, covering about 10 million square kilometres. Only Russia is bigger. The three territories to the north – Yukon, Northwest territories, and Nunavut – alone cover 3.4 million sq. km. For comparison, the UK’s area is just a quarter million sq. km. Yet the total population of the territories is only about 134,000. Much of it is inside the Arctic Circle and is uninhabited. Some would say uninhabitable given how inhospitable the area is.
An Opinion article on November 27 in the Hamilton Spectator claimed that Canada was in danger of losing control of this land and because the population there is so low. The author, Gerry Bowler, was described as a senior fellow of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. (I have also read online that Bowler is a historian. He stated that the total population of the north is 120,000, rather fewer than the latest estimates show. Does being a historian give him licence to use outdated numbers?)
I wrote this letter to the Spectator in response. It appeared in the paper on November 29.
Re: Canada risks losing control of its northern territories, Opinion, Nov. 27
The writer complains that: “Our northern territory is under threat. We must use it or lose it.”
I trust that the right-wing organization where he is a senior fellow will lead by example and relocate its Winnipeg operations. After all, they do call themselves the Frontier Centre.
Harry Shannon, Dundas
Note: My letter to the Spec described the Frontier Centre as “far-right.” They changed the wording. If you look up the Centre’s positions on various issues (not that I’m recommending it) you’ll see that my description was right (pun intended).